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Du X, Qi Z, Jiao Y, Wu W, Huang Q, Sun X, Hu S. HK2 promotes migration and invasion of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma via enhancing cancer stem-like cells' resistance to anoikis. Cell Signal 2024; 118:111126. [PMID: 38453126 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2024.111126] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) and anoikis resistance play crucial roles in the metastasis of cancers. However, it remains unclear whether CSLCs are related to anoikis resistance in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Here we identified a group of stemness-related anoikis genes (SRAGs) via bioinformatic analysis of public data. Accordingly, a novel anoikis-related classification was established and it divided ICC into C1 and C2 type. Different type ICC displayed distinct prognosis, molecular as well immune characteristics. Furthermore, we found one key SRAGs via several machine learning algorithms. HK2 was up-regulated in tumor-repopulating cells (TRCs) of ICC, a kind of CSLCs with a potent resistance to anoikis. Its up-regulation may be caused by the activation of MTORC1 signaling in ICC-TRCs. And inhibition of HK2 significantly increased anoikis and decreased migration as well invasion in ICC-TRCs. Our studies provide an insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the resistance of ICC-TRCs to anoikis and enhance the evidences for targeting HK2 in ICC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojing Du
- Endoscopy Center, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhuoran Qi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yunjia Jiao
- Clinical Laboratory, Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, No. 170, Xinsong Road, Shanghai 201199, China
| | - Wenzhi Wu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China
| | - Qingke Huang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China
| | - Xuecheng Sun
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China
| | - Sunkuan Hu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China..
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Guo Q, Zhou Y, Xie T, Yuan Y, Li H, Shi W, Zheng L, Li X, Zhang W. Tumor microenvironment of cancer stem cells: Perspectives on cancer stem cell targeting. Genes Dis 2024; 11:101043. [PMID: 38292177 PMCID: PMC10825311 DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2023.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
There are few tumor cell subpopulations with stem cell characteristics in tumor tissue, defined as cancer stem cells (CSCs) or cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs), which can reconstruct neoplasms with malignant biological behaviors such as invasiveness via self-renewal and unlimited generation. The microenvironment that CSCs depend on consists of various cellular components and corresponding medium components. Among these factors existing at a variety of levels and forms, cytokine networks and numerous signal pathways play an important role in signaling transduction. These factors promote or maintain cancer cell stemness, and participate in cancer recurrence, metastasis, and resistance. This review aims to summarize the recent molecular data concerning the multilayered relationship between CSCs and CSC-favorable microenvironments. We also discuss the therapeutic implications of targeting this synergistic interplay, hoping to give an insight into targeting cancer cell stemness for tumor therapy and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Guo
- Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, China
| | - Yi Zhou
- School of Life Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, China
| | - Tianyuan Xie
- School of Life Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, China
| | - Yin Yuan
- School of Life Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, China
| | - Huilong Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, China
| | - Wanjin Shi
- School of Life Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, China
| | - Lufeng Zheng
- School of Life Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Intervention, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, China
| | - Xiaoman Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China
| | - Wenzhou Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, China
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Luo F, Zhang M, Sun B, Xu C, Yang Y, Zhang Y, Li S, Chen G, Chen C, Li Y, Feng H. LINC00115 promotes chemoresistant breast cancer stem-like cell stemness and metastasis through SETDB1/PLK3/HIF1α signaling. Mol Cancer 2024; 23:60. [PMID: 38520019 PMCID: PMC10958889 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-024-01975-3] [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: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer stem-like cell is a key barrier for therapeutic resistance and metastasis in various cancers, including breast cancer, yet the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Through a genome-wide lncRNA expression profiling, we identified that LINC00115 is robustly upregulated in chemoresistant breast cancer stem-like cells (BCSCs). METHODS LncRNA microarray assay was performed to document abundance changes of lncRNAs in paclitaxel (PTX)-resistant MDA-MB-231 BCSC (ALDH+) and non-BCSC (ALDH-). RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were performed to determine the binding proteins of LINC00115. The clinical significance of the LINC00115 pathway was examined in TNBC metastatic lymph node tissues. The biological function of LINC00115 was investigated through gain- and loss-of-function studies. The molecular mechanism was explored through RNA sequencing, mass spectrometry, and the CRISPR/Cas9-knockout system. The therapeutic potential of LINC00115 was examined through xenograft animal models. RESULTS LINC00115 functions as a scaffold lncRNA to link SETDB1 and PLK3, leading to enhanced SETDB1 methylation of PLK3 at both K106 and K200 in drug-resistant BCSC. PLK3 methylation decreases PLK3 phosphorylation of HIF1α and thereby increases HIF1α stability. HIF1α, in turn, upregulates ALKBH5 to reduce m6A modification of LINC00115, resulting in attenuated degradation of YTHDF2-dependent m6A-modified RNA and enhanced LINC00115 stability. Thus, this positive feedback loop provokes BCSC phenotypes and enhances chemoresistance and metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer. SETDB1 inhibitor TTD-IN with LINC00115 ASO sensitizes PTX-resistant cell response to chemotherapy in a xenograft animal model. Correlative expression of LINC00115, methylation PLK3, SETDB1, and HIF1α are prognostic for clinical triple-negative breast cancers. CONCLUSIONS Our findings uncover LINC00115 as a critical regulator of BCSC and highlight targeting LINC00115 and SETDB1 as a potential therapeutic strategy for chemotherapeutic resistant breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Mingda Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Bowen Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Chenxin Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Department of Hematology & Oncology, Committee Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Health Committee Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Yingwen Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Shanshan Li
- Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Department of Hematology & Oncology, Committee Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Health Committee Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Guoyu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Ceshi Chen
- Academy of Biomedical Engineering, the Third Affiliated Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650500, China.
| | - Yanxin Li
- Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Department of Hematology & Oncology, Committee Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Health Committee Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Shanghai, 200127, China.
| | - Haizhong Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China.
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Zhuang J, Zhang L, Zhang S, Zhang Z, Xie T, Zhao W, Liu Y. Membrane-associated RING-CH 7 inhibits stem-like capacities of bladder cancer cells by interacting with nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 1. Cell Biosci 2024; 14:32. [PMID: 38462600 PMCID: PMC10926635 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-024-01210-y] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer stem-like capacities are major factors contributing to unfavorable prognosis. However, the associated molecular mechanisms underlying cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) maintain remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of the ubiquitin E3 ligase membrane-associated RING-CH 7 (MARCH7) in bladder cancer cell CSCs. METHODS Male BALB/c nude mice aged 4-5 weeks were utilized to generate bladder xenograft model. The expression levels of MARCHs were checked in online databases and our collected bladder tumors by quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Next, we evaluated the stem-like capacities of bladder cancer cells with knockdown or overexpression of MARCH7 by assessing their spheroid-forming ability and spheroid size. Additionally, we conducted proliferation, colony formation, and transwell assays to validate the effects of MARCH7 on bladder cancer CSCs. The detailed molecular mechanism of MARCH7/NOD1 was validated by immunoprecipitation, dual luciferase, and in vitro ubiquitination assays. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing 1 (NOD1) is a substrate of MARCH7. RESULTS We found that MARCH7 interacts with NOD1, leading to the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation of NOD1. Furthermore, our data suggest that NOD1 significantly enhances stem-like capacities such as proliferation and invasion abilities. The overexpressed MARCH7 counteracts the effects of NOD1 on bladder cancer CSCs in both in vivo and in vitro models. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that MARCH7 functions as a tumor suppressor and inhibits the stem-like capacities of bladder tumor cells by promoting the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation of NOD1. Targeting the MARCH7/NOD1 pathway could be a promising therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junlong Zhuang
- Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Institute of Urology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Lingli Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Siyuan Zhang
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhongqing Zhang
- Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Tianlei Xie
- Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- School of Laboratory Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China.
- Clinical Laboratory, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China.
| | - Yantao Liu
- Department of Pharmacy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Zhang WF, Ruan CW, Wu JB, Wu GL, Wang XG, Chen HJ. Limonin inhibits the stemness of cancer stem-like cells derived from colorectal carcinoma cells potentially via blocking STAT3 signaling. World J Clin Oncol 2024; 15:317-328. [PMID: 38455137 PMCID: PMC10915944 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i2.317] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Limonin is one of the most abundant active ingredients of Tetradium ruticarpum. It exerts antitumor effects on several kinds of cancer cells. However, whether limonin exerts antitumor effects on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), a subpopulation responsible for a poor prognosis, is unclear. AIM To evaluate the effects of limonin on CSCs derived from CRC cells. METHODS CSCs were collected by culturing CRC cells in serum-free medium. The cytotoxicity of limonin against CSCs and parental cells (PCs) was determined by cholecystokinin octapeptide-8 assay. The effects of limonin on stemness were detected by measuring stemness hallmarks and sphere formation ability. RESULTS As expected, limonin exerted inhibitory effects on CRC cell behaviors, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, colony formation and tumor formation in soft agar. A relatively low concentration of limonin decreased the expression stemness hallmarks, including Nanog and β-catenin, the proportion of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1-positive CSCs, and the sphere formation rate, indicating that limonin inhibits stemness without presenting cytotoxicity. Additionally, limonin treatment inhibited invasion and tumor formation in soft agar and in nude mice. Moreover, limonin treatment significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT3 at Y705 but not S727 and did not affect total STAT3 expression. Inhibition of Nanog and β-catenin expression and sphere formation by limonin was obviously reversed by pretreatment with 2 μmol/L colievlin. CONCLUSION Taken together, these results indicate that limonin is a promising compound that targets CSCs and could be used to combat CRC recurrence and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Feng Zhang
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
- Department of Anorectal Section, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Cheng-Wei Ruan
- Department of Anorectal Section, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jun-Bo Wu
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Hengyang Central Hospital, Hengyang 421000, Hunan Province, China
| | - Guo-Liang Wu
- The First College for Clinical Medicine, Nanjing University Of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Xiao-Gan Wang
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Hong-Jin Chen
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
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Zhao Z, Sun Y, Tang J, Yang Y, Xu X. LRPPRC regulates malignant behaviors, protects mitochondrial homeostasis, mitochondrial function in osteosarcoma and derived cancer stem-like cells. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:935. [PMID: 37789316 PMCID: PMC10548780 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-11443-8] [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: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Leucine-rich pentatricopeptide repeat containing (LRPPRC) is a potential oncogene in multiple tumor types, including lung adenocarcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric cancer. LRPPRC exerts its tumor-promoting effects mainly by regulating mitochondrial homeostasis and inducing oxidative stress. However, the exact role and mechanisms by which LRPPRC acts in osteosarcoma and osteosarcoma-derived cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), which potentially critically contribute to recurrence, metastasis and chemoresistance, are still largely unclear. METHODS LRPPRC level in osteosarcoma cells and CSCs were detected by western blot. Effects of LRPPRC on CSCs were accessed after LRPPRC knockdown by introducing lentivirus containing shRNA targeting to LRPPRC mRNA. RESULTS we found that LRPPRC was highly expressed in several osteosarcoma cell lines and that LRPPRC knockdown inhibited malignant behaviors, including proliferation, invasion, colony formation and tumor formation, in MG63 and U2OS cells. Enriched CSCs derived from MG63 and U2OS cells presented upregulated LRPPRC levels compared to parental cells (PCs), and LRPPRC knockdown markedly decreased the sphere-forming capacity. These findings demonstrate that LRPPRC knockdown decreased stemness in CSCs. Consistent with a previous report, LRPPRC knockdown decreased the expression levels of FOXM1 and its downstream target genes, including PRDX3, MnSOD and catalase, which are responsible for scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Expectedly, LRPPRC knockdown increased the accumulation of ROS in osteosarcoma and osteosarcoma-derived CSCs under hypoxic conditions due to the decrease in ROS scavenging proteins. Moreover, LRPPRC knockdown sensitized osteosarcomas and CSCs against carboplatin, a ROS-inducing chemoagent, and promoted apoptosis. Furthermore, LRPPRC knockdown significantly decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential, disturbed mitochondrial homeostasis and led to mitochondrial dysfunction. CONCLUSION Taken together, these findings indicated that LRPPRC exerts critical roles in regulating mitochondrial homeostasis, mitochondrial function and tumorigenesis in osteosarcomas and osteosarcoma-derived CSCs. This suggests that LRPPRC might be a promising therapeutic target for osteosarcomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyi Zhao
- TCM Regulating Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610041, P.R. China
| | - Yingwei Sun
- Department of Pharmacy, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610041, P.R. China
| | - Jing Tang
- Chongqing Three gorges medical college, Chongqing, 404120, P.R. China
| | - Yuting Yang
- TCM Regulating Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610041, P.R. China
| | - Xiaochao Xu
- College of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610000, P.R. China.
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Loda A, Calza S, Giacomini A, Ravelli C, Krishna Chandran AM, Tobia C, Tabellini G, Parolini S, Semeraro F, Ronca R, Rezzola S. FGF-trapping hampers cancer stem-like cells in uveal melanoma. Cancer Cell Int 2023; 23:89. [PMID: 37165394 PMCID: PMC10173517 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-02903-z] [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] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumor cells responsible for tumor initiation, metastasis, chemoresistance, and relapse. Recently, CSCs have been identified in Uveal Melanoma (UM), which represents the most common primary tumor of the eye. UM is highly resistant to systemic chemotherapy and effective therapies aimed at improving overall survival of patients are eagerly required. METHODS Herein, taking advantage from a pan Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)-trap molecule, we singled out and analyzed a UM-CSC subset with marked stem-like properties. A hierarchical clustering of gene expression data publicly available on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was performed to identify patients' clusters. RESULTS By disrupting the FGF/FGF receptor (FGFR)-mediated signaling, we unmasked an FGF-sensitive UM population characterized by increased expression of numerous stemness-related transcription factors, enhanced aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, and tumor-sphere formation capacity. Moreover, FGF inhibition deeply affected UM-CSC survival in vivo in a chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) tumor graft assay, resulting in the reduction of tumor growth. At clinical level, hierarchical clustering of TCGA gene expression data revealed a strong correlation between FGFs/FGFRs and stemness-related genes, allowing the identification of three distinct clusters characterized by different clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the evidence that the FGF/FGFR axis represents a master regulator of cancer stemness in primary UM tumors and point to anti-FGF treatments as a novel therapeutic strategy to hit the CSC component in UM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Loda
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Stefano Calza
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Arianna Giacomini
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Cosetta Ravelli
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Adwaid Manu Krishna Chandran
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Chiara Tobia
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Giovanna Tabellini
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Silvia Parolini
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy
| | - Francesco Semeraro
- Eye Clinic, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Roberto Ronca
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy.
| | - Sara Rezzola
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, viale Europa 11, 25123, Brescia, Italy.
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Wang MD, Xiang H, Zhang L, Wang C. Integration of OV6 expression and CD68 + tumor-associated macrophages with clinical features better predicts the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Transl Oncol 2022; 25:101509. [PMID: 36030750 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2022.101509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reliable prognostic indicators for accurately predicting postoperative outcomes in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients are lacking. Although cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in tumor microenvironment are implicated in the occurrence and development of HCC, whether the combination of CSC biomarkers and TAM populations could achieve better performance in predicting the prognosis of patients with HCC has been rarely reported. METHODS A total of 306 HCC patients were randomly divided into the training and validation cohorts at a 1:1 ratio, and the expression of OV6 and CD68 was assessed using immunohistochemistry in HCC samples. The prognostic value of these biomarkers for post-surgical survival and recurrence were evaluated by the curve of receiver operating characteristic and multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS The density of OV6+ CSCs was positively correlated with the infiltration of CD68+ TAMs in HCC. Both high OV6 expression and CD68+ TAM infiltration was closely associated with poor overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of HCC patients. Moreover, overexpression of OV6 and infiltration of CD68+ TAMs were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS after liver resection. The integration of OV6 and CD68 with tumor size and microvascular invasion exhibited highest C-index value for survival predictivity in HCC patients than any other biomarkers or clinical indicators alone. CONCLUSION Incorporating intratumoral OV6 expression and CD68+ TAMs infiltration with established clinical indicators may serve as a promising prognostic signature for HCC, and could more accurately predict the clinical outcomes for HCC patients after liver resection.
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Yang Y, Li M, Zhou X, Wang W, Shao Y, Yao J, Wang X. PHF5A Contributes to the Maintenance of the Cancer Stem-like Phenotype in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Regulating Histone Deacetylase 8. Ann Clin Lab Sci 2022; 52:439-451. [PMID: 35777798] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) are closely associated with tumor recurrence, metastasis, and drug-resistance. PHD-finger domain protein 5A (PHF5A) is related to tumorigenesis and development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The role and regulatory mechanism of PHF5A in CSLCs of NSCLC remain unclear. This study aimed to identify the biological characteristics of CSLCs and the role of PHF5A in maintaining stemness of NSCLC. METHODS H1299-spheres and A549-spheres were obtained by oncosphere-forming assay and CSLCs by flow cytometry. Expression of CD133, aldehyde dehydrogenase isoform 1, E-cadherin, vimentin, PHF5A, and histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8) was tested using immunofluorescence staining, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. CCK-8 and Transwell assays were employed to determine proliferation, migration, and invasion ability of CSLCs and adherent monolayer cells in NSCLC. We regulated PHF5A expression and HDAC activity in CSLCs to explore the mechanism of PHF5A in stemness maintenance and analyzed expression of target proteins in NSCLC tissues. RESULTS Compared with monolayer cells, CSLCs showed a decreased response to cisplatin-mediated inhibition of proliferation, increased migration and invasion, and high expression of PHF5A and HDAC8, accompanied by EMT marker alterations. Targeted knockdown of PHF5A in CSLCs of NSCLC resulted in diminished stemness phenotypes and HDAC8 expression, whereas inhibition of HDAC activity affected stemness maintenance. Moreover, the expression of target proteins showed consistent changes in NSCLC tissues. CONCLUSIONS Compared with monolayer cells, cancer stem-like phenotype properties of NSCLC were altered, PHF5A was involved in stemness maintenance of CSLCs, and this process may be related to the activation of HDAC8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Yang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Man Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Xueli Zhou
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Yu Shao
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Jinghao Yao
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Xiaojing Wang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Clinical and Preclinical Research in Respiratory Disease; Molecular Diagnosis Center, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
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10
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Shen Y, Yang L, Li L. Cancer stem-like cells contribute to paclitaxel resistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Int J Clin Exp Pathol 2022; 15:183-190. [PMID: 35535205 PMCID: PMC9077107] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine the role of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) stem cells in paclitaxel resistance through the molecular characterization of ESCC stem cells. METHODS A resistant cell line (RR-ECl09) of cells were established using intermittent induction and time increments of high-dose paclitaxel in a human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma line (EC109). The multidrug resistance of RR-ECl09 cells to anticancer agents was evaluated by MTT assay. The RR-EC109 and EC109 cells were used for sphere formation assays, clonogenicity assays, stem cell gene expression, and the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers. RESULTS The RR-EC109 cells were established over 7 months. RR-ECl09 cells had 67.258 fold resistance to paclitaxel. The percentage of sphere formation and clone proliferation ability of RR-EC109 cells was higher than that of EC109 cells (P < 0.05). The amount of side population cells in RR-EC109 cells was higher than that of EC109 cells (P < 0.05). RR-EC109 cells produced more mRNA for Bmi1, Nanog, Oct4, Sox2, ABCG2, Nestin, and Ki-67 than EC109 cells (P < 0.05). E-cadherin expression was lower in RR-EC109 cells than in EC109 cells, while N-cadherin, Snail, and Twist expressions were higher in RR-EC109 cells than in EC109 cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Cancer stem cell (CSC)-like cells exist among paclitaxel-resistant cells in ESCC and may play a role in ESCC drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanru Shen
- Department of Gastroenterology, Fukang Hospital Affiliated to Tibet UniversityLhasa, China
| | - Lihui Yang
- Department of Science and Education, People’s Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet UniversityLhasa, China
| | - Lei Li
- Department of Laboratory, Fukang Hospital Affiliated to Tibet UniversityLhasa, China
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11
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Bregenzer M, Horst E, Mehta P, Snyder C, Repetto T, Mehta G. The Role of the Tumor Microenvironment in CSC Enrichment and Chemoresistance: 3D Co-culture Methods. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2424:217-245. [PMID: 34918298 PMCID: PMC10602930 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1956-8_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [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] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cancer stem-like cells (CSC) are responsible for tumor progression, chemoresistance, recurrence, and poor outcomes in many cancers, making them critical research and therapeutic targets. One of the critical components potentiating CSC chemoresistance is the interactions between CSC and the surrounding cells in the tumor microenvironment. Our lab has developed several 3D co-culture models to study ovarian CSC interactions with stromal or immune cells found in ovarian tumor microenvironments. In this chapter, we use ovarian cancer as a model to describe the methodologies developed in our lab; however, these techniques are applicable to a wide range of cancers. First, we discuss our method for isolating CSC from heterogeneous tumors and for creating 3D self-assembled tumoroids in hanging drop plates, in either monoculture or co-culture with mesenchymal stem cells or monocytes/macrophages. We then discuss methods for analyzing these models with a focus on isolating cell-type-specific changes and mechanism investigation. Specifically, we describe lentiviral transduction and flow cytometry as established and robust methods to identify and separate each cell type for downstream analysis. We then describe methods to examine CSC functionality with transwell migration assays and colorimetric MTS-based proliferation assays. Finally, we demonstrate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA ) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods as mechanistic investigation tools to decouple paracrine and juxtacrine interactions. These methods have wide-reaching applications in cancer research from basic biological investigations, to drug discovery, and personalized drug screening for precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Bregenzer
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Eric Horst
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Pooja Mehta
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Catherine Snyder
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Taylor Repetto
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Geeta Mehta
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Rogel Cancer Center, and Precision Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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12
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Verma AH, Ganesh S, Venkatakrishnan K, Tan B. Self-functional gold nanoprobes for intra-nuclear epigenomic monitoring of cancer stem-like cells. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 195:113644. [PMID: 34571478 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113644] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Cancer epigenomic-environment is a core center of a tumor's genetic and epigenetic configuration. Surveying epigenomic-environment of cancer stem-like cells (CSC) is vital for developing novel diagnostic methods and improving current therapies since CSCs are among the most challenging clinical hurdles. To date, there exists no technique which can successfully monitor the epigenomics of CSC. Here, we have developed unique sub-10 nm Self-functional Gold Nanoprobes (GNP) as a CSC epigenomic monitoring platform that can easily maneuver into the nucleus while not producing any conformal changes to the genomic DNA. The GNP was synthesized using physical synthesis method of pulsed laser multiphoton ionization, which enabled the shrinking of GNP to 2.69 nm which helped us achieve two critical parameters for epigenomics monitoring: efficient nuclear uptake (98%) without complex functionalization and no conformational nuclear changes. The GNP efficiently generated SERS for structural, functional, molecular epigenetics, and nuclear proteomics in preclinical models of breast and lung CSCs. To the best of knowledge, this study is first to utilize the intranuclear epigenomic signal to distinguish between CSC from different tissues with >99% accuracy and specificity. Our findings are anticipated to help advance real-time epigenomics surveillance technologies such as nucleus-targeted drug surveillance and epigenomic prognosis and diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anish Hiresha Verma
- Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (I BEST), Partnership Between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Ultrashort Laser Nanomanufacturing Research Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada; Nano-Bio Interface Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Swarna Ganesh
- Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (I BEST), Partnership Between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Ultrashort Laser Nanomanufacturing Research Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada; Nano-Bio Interface Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Krishnan Venkatakrishnan
- Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (I BEST), Partnership Between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Ultrashort Laser Nanomanufacturing Research Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada; Nano-Bio Interface Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada.
| | - Bo Tan
- Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (I BEST), Partnership Between Ryerson University and St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8, Canada; Nano-characterization Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3, Canada; Nano-Bio Interface Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada
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13
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Khachigian LM. Emerging insights on functions of the anthelmintic flubendazole as a repurposed anticancer agent. Cancer Lett 2021; 522:57-62. [PMID: 34520820 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
While flubendazole has been used as a macrofilaricide in humans and animals for some 40 years, work in vitro and in preclinical models over the last decade has suggested its potential use as an anticancer agent. This article reviews recent studies in a range of tumor types indicating novel functions for flubendazole in its control of processes associated with tumor growth, spread and renewal including ferroptosis, autophagy, cancer stem-like cell killing and suppression of intratumoral myeloid-derived suppressor cell accumulation and programmed cell death protein 1. Flubendazole's potential use in clinical oncology will require further understanding of its mechanistic roles, range of inhibition of cancer types, capacity for adjunctive therapy and possible reformulation for enhanced solubility, bioavailability and potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Levon M Khachigian
- Vascular Biology and Translational Research, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
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14
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Zhao F, Qin S, Huang L, Ding L, Shi X, Zhong G. Long noncoding RNA AK023096 interacts with hnRNP-K and contributes to the maintenance of self-renewal in bladder cancer stem-like cells. Exp Cell Res 2021; 409:112909. [PMID: 34742742 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
LncRNA contribution to self-renewal of bladder cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) remains largely unknown. We investigated the expression profile and biological function of lncRNAs in urothelial CSLCs by microarray analysis. Among these, lncRNA-AK023096 was identified as potentially playing a role in maintaining self-renewal of CSLCs. Knockdown of this transcript inhibited spheroid formation and tumor formation. We found that AK023096 mediates recruitment of hnRNP-K to SOX2 promoter and increases H3K4 trimethylation status on SOX2 promoter, leading to a robust change in SOX2 mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, AK023096 expression in primary tumors was found to be a powerful predictor of recurrence following transurethral resection in patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer, highlighting the critical role of lncRNA in the bladder cancer regulatory network.
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15
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Horst EN, Bregenzer ME, Mehta P, Snyder CS, Repetto T, Yang-Hartwich Y, Mehta G. Personalized models of heterogeneous 3D epithelial tumor microenvironments: Ovarian cancer as a model. Acta Biomater 2021; 132:401-420. [PMID: 33940195 PMCID: PMC8969826 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.04.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Intractable human diseases such as cancers, are context dependent, unique to both the individual patient and to the specific tumor microenvironment. However, conventional cancer treatments are often nonspecific, targeting global similarities rather than unique drivers. This limits treatment efficacy across heterogeneous patient populations and even at different tumor locations within the same patient. Ultimately, this poor efficacy can lead to adverse clinical outcomes and the development of treatment-resistant relapse. To prevent this and improve outcomes, it is necessary to be selective when choosing a patient's optimal adjuvant treatment. In this review, we posit the use of personalized, tumor-specific models (TSM) as tools to achieve this remarkable feat. First, using ovarian cancer as a model disease, we outline the heterogeneity and complexity of both the cellular and extracellular components in the tumor microenvironment. Then we examine the advantages and disadvantages of contemporary cancer models and the rationale for personalized TSM. We discuss how to generate precision 3D models through careful and detailed analysis of patient biopsies. Finally, we provide clinically relevant applications of these versatile personalized cancer models to highlight their potential impact. These models are ideal for a myriad of fundamental cancer biology and translational studies. Importantly, these approaches can be extended to other carcinomas, facilitating the discovery of new therapeutics that more effectively target the unique aspects of each individual patient's TME. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this article, we have presented the case for the application of biomaterials in developing personalized models of complex diseases such as cancers. TSM could bring about breakthroughs in the promise of precision medicine. The critical components of the diverse tumor microenvironments, that lead to treatment failures, include cellular- and extracellular matrix- heterogeneity, and biophysical signals to the cells. Therefore, we have described these dynamic components of the tumor microenvironments, and have highlighted how contemporary biomaterials can be utilized to create personalized in vitro models of cancers. We have also described the application of the TSM to predict the dynamic patterns of disease progression, and predict effective therapies that can produce durable responses, limit relapses, and treat any minimal residual disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric N Horst
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Michael E Bregenzer
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Pooja Mehta
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Catherine S Snyder
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Taylor Repetto
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Yang Yang-Hartwich
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Geeta Mehta
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Precision Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
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16
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Maehara O, Suda G, Natsuizaka M, Shigesawa T, Kanbe G, Kimura M, Sugiyama M, Mizokami M, Nakai M, Sho T, Morikawa K, Ogawa K, Ohashi S, Kagawa S, Kinugasa H, Naganuma S, Okubo N, Ohnishi S, Takeda H, Sakamoto N. FGFR2 maintains cancer cell differentiation via AKT signaling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer Biol Ther 2021; 22:372-380. [PMID: 34224333 DOI: 10.1080/15384047.2021.1939638] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) are important for signaling to maintain cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, which FGF receptor, 1, 2, 3, 4, and L1, is essential or whether FGFRs have distinct different roles in ESCC-CSCs is still in question. This study shows that FGFR2, particularly the IIIb isoform, is highly expressed in non-CSCs. Non-CSCs have an epithelial phenotype, and such cells are more differentiated in ESCC. Further, FGFR2 induces keratinocyte differentiation through AKT but not MAPK signaling and diminishes CSC populations. Conversely, knockdown of FGFR2 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and enriches CSC populations in ESCC. Finally, data analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset shows that expression of FGFR2 significantly correlated with cancer cell differentiation in clinical ESCC samples. The present study shows that each FGFR has a distinct role and FGFR2-AKT signaling is a key driver of keratinocyte differentiation in ESCC. Activation of FGFR2-AKT signaling could be a future therapeutic option targeting CSC in ESCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osamu Maehara
- Department of Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Goki Suda
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Mitsuteru Natsuizaka
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.,Department of Internal Medicine, Natsuizaka Clinic, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Taku Shigesawa
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Gouki Kanbe
- Department of Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Megumi Kimura
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Masaya Sugiyama
- Genome Medical Sciences Project, National Center for Global Health Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masashi Mizokami
- Genome Medical Sciences Project, National Center for Global Health Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masato Nakai
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Takuya Sho
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Kenichi Morikawa
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Koji Ogawa
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Shinya Ohashi
- Department of Therapeutic Oncology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shingo Kagawa
- Department of General Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Hideaki Kinugasa
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
| | - Seiji Naganuma
- Department of Pathology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi, Japan
| | - Naoto Okubo
- Department of Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Ohnishi
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Takeda
- Department of Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Naoya Sakamoto
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
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17
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Senjor E, Perišić Nanut M, Breznik B, Mitrović A, Mlakar J, Rotter A, Porčnik A, Lah Turnšek T, Kos J. Cystatin F acts as a mediator of immune suppression in glioblastoma. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2021; 44:1051-1063. [PMID: 34189679 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-021-00618-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of brain cancer, is composed of heterogeneous populations of differentiated cells, cancer stem cells and immune cells. Cystatin F, an endogenous inhibitor of lysosomal cysteine peptidases, regulates the function of cytotoxic immune cells. The aim of this study was to determine which type of cells expresses cystatin F in glioblastoma and to determine the role of cystatin F during disease progression. METHODS RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry were used to determine cystatin F mRNA and protein levels in glioblastoma tissue samples. The internalization of cystatin F was analyzed by Western blotting. Enzyme kinetics, real time invasion and calcein release cytotoxicity assays were used to assess the role of internalized cystatin F. RESULTS We found that cystatin F was not expressed in non-cancer brain tissues, but that its expression increased with glioma progression. In tumor tissues, extensive staining was observed in cancer stem-like cells and microglia/monocytes, which secrete cystatin F into their microenvironment. In trans activity of cystatin F was confirmed using an in vitro glioblastoma cell model. Internalized cystatin F affected cathepsin L activity in glioblastoma cells and decreased their invasiveness. In addition, we found that cystatin F decreased the susceptibility of glioblastoma cells to the cytotoxic activity of natural killer (NK) cells. CONCLUSIONS Our data implicate cystatin F as a mediator of immune suppression in glioblastoma. Increased cystatin F mRNA and protein levels in immune, glioblastoma and glioblastoma stem-like cells or trans internalized cystatin F may have an impact on decreased susceptibility of glioblastoma cells to NK cytotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Senjor
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva cesta 7, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Milica Perišić Nanut
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Barbara Breznik
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ana Mitrović
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jernej Mlakar
- Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ana Rotter
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Andrej Porčnik
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Clinical Centre Ljubljana, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tamara Lah Turnšek
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Janko Kos
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia. .,Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva cesta 7, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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18
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Huang R, Fujimura A, Nakata E, Takihira S, Inoue H, Yoshikawa S, Hiyama T, Ozaki T, Kamiya A. Adrenergic signaling promotes the expansion of cancer stem-like cells of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 557:199-205. [PMID: 33872989 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.03.172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), a highly malignant tumor that arises in peripheral nerve tissues, is known to be highly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Although there are several reports on genetic mutations and epigenetic changes that define the pathogenesis of MPNST, there is insufficient information regarding the microenvironment that contributes to the malignancy of MPNST. In the present study, we demonstrate that adrenaline increases the cancer stem cell population in MPNST. This effect is mediated by adrenaline stimulation of beta-2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2), which activates the Hippo transducer, YAP/TAZ. Inhibition and RNAi experiments revealed that inhibition of ADRB2 attenuated the adrenaline-triggered activity of YAP/TAZ and subsequently attenuated MPNST cells stemness. Furthermore, ADRB2-YAP/TAZ axis was confirmed in the MPNST patients' specimens. The prognosis of patients with high levels of ADRB2 was found to be significantly worse. These data show that adrenaline exacerbates MPNST prognosis and may aid the development of new treatment strategies for MPNST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongsheng Huang
- Department of Cellular Physiology, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Atsushi Fujimura
- Department of Cellular Physiology, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan; Neutron Therapy Research Center, Okayama University, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan.
| | - Eiji Nakata
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Shota Takihira
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Inoue
- Department of Clinical Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Soichiro Yoshikawa
- Department of Cellular Physiology, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Takeshi Hiyama
- Department of Cellular Physiology, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Toshifumi Ozaki
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
| | - Atsunori Kamiya
- Department of Cellular Physiology, Okayama University Academic Field of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan
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19
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Matsuki M, Inoue R, Murai A, Kubo T, Hashimoto S, Murata K, Kanaseki T, Tsukahara T, Nishida S, Tanaka T, Kitamura H, Masumori N, Hirohashi Y, Torigoe T. Neuregulin-1-β1 and γ-secretase play a critical role in sphere-formation and cell survival of urothelial carcinoma cancer stem-like cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 552:128-35. [PMID: 33744760 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.03.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Previously, we investigated gene expression in a high aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 expression (ALDH1high) population of urothelial carcinoma (UC) cells as UC cancer stem-like cells (CSCs)/cancer-initiating cells (CICs) and found that NRG1 expression was upregulated in ALDH1high cells. NRG1 is a trophic factor that contains an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain that signals by stimulating ERBB receptor tyrosine kinases and the cytoplasmic domain. NRG1 has been determined to be involved in frequent gene fusions with other partners in several malignancies and has a role in carcinogenesis through the NRG1 EGF-like domain and its cognitive receptor ERBBs. We thus aimed to elucidate the function of NRG1 in UC CSCs/CICs in this study. Both NRG1α and NRG1-β1 were preferentially expressed in ALDH1high cells compared with ALDH1low cells; however, siRNA experiments revealed that NRG1-β1 but not NRG1-α has a role in sphere formation. The EGF-like domain of NRG1 had a role in sphere formation of UC cells to some extent but was not essential. The intracellular domain of NRG1 did not have a role in sphere-formation. Inhibition of γ-secretase suppressed sphere formation. These findings indicate that cleavage of NRG1-β1 by γ-secretase plays an important role in UC CSC/CIC proliferation; however, the downstream targets of NRG1-β1 remain elusive.
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Tornín J, Villasante A, Solé-Martí X, Ginebra MP, Canal C. Osteosarcoma tissue-engineered model challenges oxidative stress therapy revealing promoted cancer stem cell properties. Free Radic Biol Med 2021; 164:107-118. [PMID: 33401009 PMCID: PMC7921834 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2020.12.437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The use of oxidative stress generated by Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) in oncology is being recently studied as a novel potential anti-cancer therapy. However, the beneficial effects of CAP for treating osteosarcoma have mostly been demonstrated in 2-dimensional cultures of cells, which do not mimic the complexity of the 3-dimensional (3D) bone microenvironment. In order to evaluate the effects of CAP in a relevant context of the human disease, we developed a 3D tissue-engineered model of osteosarcoma using a bone-like scaffold made of collagen type I and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. Human osteosarcoma cells cultured within the scaffold showed a high capacity to infiltrate and proliferate and to exhibit osteomimicry in vitro. As expected, we observed significantly different functional behaviors between monolayer and 3D cultures when treated with Cold Plasma-Activated Ringer's Solution (PAR). Our data reveal that the 3D environment not only protects cells from PAR-induced lethality by scavenging and diminishing the amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by CAP, but also favours the stemness phenotype of osteosarcoma cells. This is the first study that demonstrates the negative effect of PAR on cancer stem-like cell subpopulations in a 3D biomimetic model of cancer. These findings will allow to suitably re-focus research on plasma-based therapies in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Tornín
- Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group, Department Materials Science and Metallurgy, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Escola D'Enginyeria Barcelona Est (EEBE), C/Eduard Maristany 14, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CREB), UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Av. de Roma S/n, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Aranzazu Villasante
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), C/Baldiri I Reixach 10-12, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavi Solé-Martí
- Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group, Department Materials Science and Metallurgy, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Escola D'Enginyeria Barcelona Est (EEBE), C/Eduard Maristany 14, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CREB), UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria-Pau Ginebra
- Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group, Department Materials Science and Metallurgy, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Escola D'Enginyeria Barcelona Est (EEBE), C/Eduard Maristany 14, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CREB), UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), C/Baldiri I Reixach 10-12, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristina Canal
- Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group, Department Materials Science and Metallurgy, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Escola D'Enginyeria Barcelona Est (EEBE), C/Eduard Maristany 14, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain; Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CREB), UPC, 08019, Barcelona, Spain.
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Liu HL, Wang YN, Feng SY. Brain tumors: Cancer stem-like cells interact with tumor microenvironment. World J Stem Cells 2020; 12:1439-1454. [PMID: 33505594 PMCID: PMC7789119 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i12.1439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) with potential of self-renewal drive tumorigenesis. Brain tumor microenvironment (TME) has been identified as a critical regulator of malignancy progression. Many researchers are searching new ways to characterize tumors with the goal of predicting how they respond to treatment. Here, we describe the striking parallels between normal stem cells and CSCs. We review the microenvironmental aspects of brain tumors, in particular composition and vital roles of immune cells infiltrating glioma and medulloblastoma. By highlighting that CSCs cooperate with TME via various cellular communication approaches, we discuss the recent advances in therapeutic strategies targeting the components of TME. Identification of the complex and interconnected factors can facilitate the development of promising treatments for these deadly malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai-Long Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Ya-Nan Wang
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Baoding 071000, Hebei Province, China
| | - Shi-Yu Feng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
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22
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Zhou G, Da Won Bae S, Nguyen R, Huo X, Han S, Zhang Z, Hebbard L, Duan W, Eslam M, Liddle C, Yuen L, Lam V, Qiao L, George J. An aptamer-based drug delivery agent (CD133-apt-Dox) selectively and effectively kills liver cancer stem-like cells. Cancer Lett 2020; 501:124-132. [PMID: 33352247 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2020.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Liver cancer has no effective therapies, hence a poor survival. Cancer stem-like cells not only contribute to cancer initiation and progression, but also to drug resistance, cancer metastasis, and eventually treatment failure. Hence, any approaches that can effectively kill cancer stem-like cells hold a great potential for cancer treatment. CD133 is a robust marker for liver cancer stem-like cells. We developed a specific aptamer against CD133 (CD133-apt), and then loaded this aptamer with an anticancer drug doxorubicin (CD133-apt-Dox). The efficacy of CD133-apt-Dox in targeting liver cancer stem-like cells and its overall effect in treating liver cancer were investigated using multiple in vitro and in vivo studies including in patients-derived liver cancer organoids. We have observed that CD133-apt could preferably delivered doxorubicin to CD133-expressing cells with efficient drug accumulation and retention. CD133-apt-Dox impaired the self-renewal capacity of liver cancer stem-like cells and attenuated their stem-ness phenotypes in vitro or in vivo. CD133-apt-Dox significantly inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells and patients-derived organoids and reduced the growth of xenograft tumours in nude mice inhibited the growth of DEN-induced liver cancer in immunocompetent mice. Hence, aptamer-mediated targeting of CD133 is a highly promising approach for liver cancer therapy.
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MESH Headings
- AC133 Antigen/genetics
- Animals
- Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/administration & dosage
- Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/pharmacokinetics
- Aptamers, Nucleotide/administration & dosage
- Aptamers, Nucleotide/genetics
- Aptamers, Nucleotide/pharmacokinetics
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Doxorubicin/administration & dosage
- Doxorubicin/pharmacokinetics
- Drug Carriers/administration & dosage
- Drug Carriers/pharmacokinetics
- Drug Delivery Systems/methods
- HEK293 Cells
- Humans
- Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy
- Liver Neoplasms/metabolism
- Liver Neoplasms/pathology
- Liver Neoplasms, Experimental/drug therapy
- Liver Neoplasms, Experimental/metabolism
- Liver Neoplasms, Experimental/pathology
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Neoplastic Stem Cells/drug effects
- Neoplastic Stem Cells/metabolism
- Neoplastic Stem Cells/pathology
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Zhou
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Sarah Da Won Bae
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Romario Nguyen
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Xiaoqi Huo
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Shuanglin Han
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Zhiqiang Zhang
- Renal Inflammation and Immunology Group, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia; Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 230601, Anhui, China
| | - Lionel Hebbard
- Discipline of Molecular and Cell Biology, Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine, Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Australia
| | - Wei Duan
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, 3217, Australia
| | - Mohammed Eslam
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Christopher Liddle
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Lawrence Yuen
- Department of Surgery, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Vincent Lam
- Department of Surgery, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia
| | - Liang Qiao
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia.
| | - Jacob George
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia.
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Carballo GB, Matias D, Ribeiro JH, Pessoa LS, Arrais-Neto AM, Spohr TCLSE. Cyclopamine sensitizes glioblastoma cells to temozolomide treatment through Sonic hedgehog pathway. Life Sci 2020; 257:118027. [PMID: 32622951 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
AIM Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive glioma, resistant to radio and chemotherapy usually performed with temozolomide. One of the main reasons for glioblastoma resistance to conventional therapies is due to the presence of cancer stem-like cells. These cells could recapitulate some signaling pathways important for embryonic development, such as Sonic hedgehog. Here, we investigated if the inhibitor of the Sonic hedgehog pathway, cyclopamine, could potentiate the temozolomide effect in cancer stem-like cells and glioblastoma cell lines in vitro. MAIN METHODS The viability of glioblastoma cells exposed to cyclopamine and temozolomide treatment was evaluated by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay while the induction of apoptosis was assessed by western blot. The stemness properties of glioma cells were verified by clonogenic and differentiation assay and the expression of stem cell markers were measured by fluorescence microscopy and western blot. KEY FINDINGS The glioblastoma viability was reduced by cyclopamine treatment. Cyclopamine potentiated temozolomide treatment in glioblastoma cell lines by inducing apoptosis through activation of caspase-3 cleaved. Conversely, the combined treatment of cyclopamine and temozolomide potentiated the stemness properties of glioblastoma cells by inducing the expression of SOX-2 and OCT-4. SIGNIFICANCE Cyclopamine plays an effect on glioblastoma cell lines but also sensibilize them to temozolomide treatment. Thus, first-line treatment with Sonic hedgehog inhibitor followed by temozolomide could be used as a new therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma patients.
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Behera A, Ashraf R, Srivastava AK, Kumar S. Bioinformatics analysis and verification of molecular targets in ovarian cancer stem-like cells. Heliyon 2020; 6:e04820. [PMID: 32984578 PMCID: PMC7492822 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a lethal and aggressive gynecological malignancy. Despite recent advances, existing therapies are challenged by a high relapse rate, eventually resulting in disease recurrence and chemoresistance. Emerging evidence indicates that a subpopulation of cells known as cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) exists with non-tumorigenic cancer cells (non-CSCs) within a bulk tumor and is thought to be responsible for tumor recurrence and drug-resistance. Therefore, identifying the molecular drivers for cancer stem cells (CSCs) is critical for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of EOC. METHODS Two gene datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database based on our search criteria. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in both datasets were obtained by the GEO2R web tool. Based on log2 (fold change) >2, the top thirteen up-regulated genes and log2 (fold change) < -1.5 top thirteen down-regulated genes were selected, and the association between their expressions and overall survival was analyzed by OncoLnc web tool. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Reactome pathways analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were performed for all the common DEGs found in both datasets. SK-OV-3 cells were cultured in an adherent culture medium and spheroids were generated in suspension culture with CSCs specific medium. RNA from both cell population was extracted to validate the selected DEGs expression by q-PCR. Growth inhibition assay was performed in SK-OV-3 cells after carboplatin treatment. RESULTS A total of 200 DEGs, 117 up-regulated and 83 down-regulated genes were commonly identified in both datasets. Analysis of pathways and enrichment tests indicated that the extracellular matrix part, cell proliferation, tissue development, and molecular function regulation were enriched in CSCs. Biological pathways such as interferon-alpha/beta signaling, molecules associated with elastic fibers, and synthesis of bile acids and bile salts were significantly enriched in CSCs. Among the top 13 up-regulated and down-regulated genes, MMP1 and PPFIBP1 expression were associated with overall survival. Higher expression of ADM, CXCR4, LGR5, and PTGS2 in carboplatin treated SK-OV-3 cells indicate a potential role in drug resistance. CONCLUSIONS The molecular signature and signaling pathways enriched in ovarian CSCs were identified by bioinformatics analysis. This analysis could provide further research ideas to find the new mechanism and novel potential therapeutic targets for ovarian CSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhijeet Behera
- Division of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Rahail Ashraf
- Division of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Amit Kumar Srivastava
- Cancer Biology & Inflammatory Disorder Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, WB, India
| | - Sanjay Kumar
- Division of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
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Hu A, Yang LY, Liang J, Lu D, Cao FF. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the regenerative potential of thyroid follicular epithelial cells in metastatic thyroid carcinoma. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 531:552-8. [PMID: 32811644 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.06.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Thyroid stimulating hormone deficiency is the cornerstone of treatment for metastatic thyroid cancer. Due to the loss of follicular epithelial cells in thyroid cancer, the thyroid gland degenerates to 85% of its original size. When thyroid stimulating hormone is restored, follicular epithelial cells in thyroid cancer regenerate, which is postulated to be related to stem-like cells. By single cell RNA seq, we found a group of rare thyroid follicular epithelial cells in mouse metastatic thyroid cancer, which expressed stem-like genes (CD44V6+ and CD133+) and a large number of differentiated cells (CD44V6+ and CD24+). In mouse and in organoids, the two subsets contribute equally to metastatic thyroid cancer regeneration. The analysis of human metastatic thyroid cancer revealed that the differentiated thyroid follicular epithelial cell subpopulation was similar to that of the stem like epithelial cell subpopulation, and the regeneration potential was also enhanced after thyroid stimulating hormone ablation. Accordingly, we propose that the regeneration of metastatic thyroid cancer is driven by almost all persistent thyroid follicular epithelial cells, not only by few stem-like cells.
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26
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Fukui F, Hayashi SI, Yamaguchi Y. Heregulin controls ERα and HER2 signaling in mammospheres of ERα-positive breast cancer cells and interferes with the efficacy of molecular targeted therapy. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2020; 201:105698. [PMID: 32404282 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2020.105698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Estrogen receptor (ER)α and the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family are inversely expressed in ERα-positive cancer in association with resistance to hormonal therapy, but the mechanism underlying their relationship remains unknown. We analyzed the effect of HER family ligands on the expression of ER and the HER family in ERα-positive MCF-7 and T47D breast cancer cell lines in 3D spheroid culture. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that heregulin-1β (HRG), a HER3 and HER4 ligand, most effectively regulated ER/HER family expression by decreasing ERα mRNA expression and increasing HER family mRNA expression. HRG treatment attenuated fulvestrant-mediated growth inhibition, and promoted the migration of MCF-7 cells. Moreover, HRG increased the CD44+/CD24- cell fraction and side population cells, both of which are recognized as prospective breast cancer stem cell markers. HRG activated both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Inhibitors of these pathways reduced the growth of MCF-7 cells, but the addition of HRG has different effects on these pathways. HRG blocked the inhibitory effect of mTOR inhibitors, such as rapamycin and everolimus, on cell growth but not that of a PI3K inhibitor. Furthermore, HRG slightly decreased the inhibitory effect of an AKT inhibitor on cell growth. In contrast, HRG enhanced the MEK inhibitor-induced inhibition of cell growth. These findings suggest that HRG-stimulated signaling pathways allow ERα-positive breast cancer cells to escape from growth inhibition caused by everolimus, via MAPK signaling and/or other signaling pathways. Everolimus improves progression-free survival in combination with exemestane as second-line therapy for metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Our study suggests that HRG is a novel target for ERα-positive breast cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumiyo Fukui
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan; Department of Molecular and Functional Dynamics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
| | - Shin-Ichi Hayashi
- Department of Molecular and Functional Dynamics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
| | - Yuri Yamaguchi
- Research Institute for Clinical Oncology, Saitama Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan.
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Yang J, Wu SP, Wang WJ, Jin ZR, Miao XB, Wu Y, Gou DM, Liu QZ, Yao KT. A novel miR-200c/c-myc negative regulatory feedback loop is essential to the EMT process, CSC biology and drug sensitivity in nasopharyngeal cancer. Exp Cell Res 2020; 391:111817. [PMID: 32179097 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.111817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Revised: 12/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Overexpression of the c-Myc oncogene has been implicated in cancer stem cell - like (CSC) phenotypes and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanism by which c-Myc regulates EMT and CSC potential in remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that the expression of c-Myc protein is inversely correlated with microRNA (miR)-200c expression in primary tumor samples from nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients. We further demonstrated that Myc and miR-200c negatively regulate the expression each other in NPC cell lines. c-Myc transcriptionally repressed expression of miR-200c by directly binding to two E-box sites located within a 1 kb segment upstream of TSS of the miR-200c. In addition, miR-200c post-transcriptionally repressed expression of c-Myc by binding to its 3'-untranslated region, suggesting the existence of a negative feedback loop between Myc and miR-200c. Overexpression of c-Myc interfered with this feedback loop and activated the EMT program, induced CSC phenotypes, and enhanced drug sensitivity, whereas miR-200c could counteract these biological effects of c-Myc. Our results provide a novel mechanism governing c-Myc and miR-200c expression and indicate that either targeting c-Myc or restoring miR-200c expression would be a promising approach to overcome oncogenic role of c-Myc in NPC.
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Jin B, Zhang P, Zou H, Ye H, Wang Y, Zhang J, Yang H, Pan J. Verification of EZH2 as a druggable target in metastatic uveal melanoma. Mol Cancer 2020; 19:52. [PMID: 32127003 PMCID: PMC7055080 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-020-01173-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatic metastasis develops in ~ 50% of uveal melanoma (UM) patients with no effective treatments. Although GNAQ/GNA11 mutations are believed to confer pathogenesis of UM, the underlying mechanism of liver metastasis remains poorly understood. Given that profound epigenetic evolution may occur in the long journey of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to distant organs, we hypothesized that EZH2 endowed tumor cells with enhanced malignant features (e.g., stemness and motility) during hepatic metastasis in UM. We aimed to test this hypothesis and explore whether EZH2 was a therapeutic target for hepatic metastatic UM patients. METHODS Expression of EZH2 in UM was detected by qRT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry staining. Proliferation, apoptosis, cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) properties, migration and invasion were evaluated under circumstances of treatment with either EZH2 shRNA or EZH2 inhibitor GSK126. Antitumor activity and frequency of CSCs were determined by xenografted and PDX models with NOD/SCID mice. Hepatic metastasis was evaluated with NOG mice. RESULTS We found that EZH2 overexpressed in UM promoted the growth of UM; EZH2 increased the percentage and self-renewal of CSCs by miR-29c-DVL2-β-catenin signaling; EZH2 facilitates migration and invasion of UM cells via RhoGDIγ-Rac1 axis. Targeting EZH2 either by genetics or small molecule inhibitor GSK126 decreased CSCs and motility and abrogated the liver metastasis of UM. CONCLUSIONS These findings validate EZH2 as a druggable target in metastatic UM patients, and may shed light on the understanding and interfering the complicated metastatic process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bei Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Hailin Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Huijing Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Yun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Huasheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingxuan Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China.
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Schcolnik-Cabrera A, Juárez M, Oldak B, Cruz-Rivera M, Flisser A, Dueñas-González A, Buzoianu-Anguiano V, Orozco-Suarez S, Mendlovic F. In Vitro Employment of Recombinant Taenia solium Calreticulin as a Novel Strategy Against Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem-like Cells. Arch Med Res 2020; 51:65-75. [PMID: 32097797 DOI: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2019.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Calreticulin is a chaperone and master regulator of intracellular calcium homeostasis. Several additional functions have been discovered. Human and parasite calreticulin have been shown to suppress mammary tumor growth in vivo. Here, we explored the capacity of recombinant Taenia solium calreticulin (rTsCRT) to modulate cancer cell growth in vitro. METHODS We used different concentrations of rTsCRT to treat cancer cell lines and analyzed viability and colony formation capacity. We also tested the combination of the IC20 or IC50 doses of rTsCRT and of the chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil on MCF7 and SKOV3 cell lines. As a control, the non-tumorigenic cell line MCF10-A was employed. The effect of the drug combinations was also assessed in cancer stem-like cells. Additionally, scavenger receptor ligands were employed to identify the role of this receptor in the rTsCRT anti-tumoral effect. RESULTS rTsCRT has a dose-dependent in vitro anti-tumoral effect, being SKOV3 the most sensitive cell line followed by MCF7. When rTsCRT/5-fluorouracil were used, MCF7 and SKOV3 showed a 60% reduction in cell viability; colony formation capacity was also diminished. Treatment of cancer stem-like cells from MCF7 showed a higher reduction in cell viability, while those from SKOV3 were more sensitive to colony disaggregation. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of the scavenger receptor, abrogated the reduction in viability induced by rTsCRT in both the parental and stem-like cells. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that rTsCRT alone or in combination with 5-fluorouracil inhibits the growth of breast and ovarian cancer cell lines through its interaction with scavenger receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mandy Juárez
- División de Investigación Básica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Bernardo Oldak
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Anáhuac México Norte, Huixquilucan, Estado de México, Mexico
| | - Mayra Cruz-Rivera
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ana Flisser
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Alfonso Dueñas-González
- División de Investigación Básica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Ciudad de México, Mexico; Unidad de Investigación Biomédica en Cáncer, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México/Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Vinnitsa Buzoianu-Anguiano
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades CMN Siglo XXI, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Sandra Orozco-Suarez
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades CMN Siglo XXI, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Fela Mendlovic
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Anáhuac México Norte, Huixquilucan, Estado de México, Mexico.
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Zhou J, Liu S, Wang Y, Dai W, Zou H, Wang S, Zhang J, Pan J. Salinomycin effectively eliminates cancer stem-like cells and obviates hepatic metastasis in uveal melanoma. Mol Cancer 2019; 18:159. [PMID: 31718679 PMCID: PMC6852970 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-019-1068-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular tumor. Hepatic metastasis is the major and direct death-related reason in UM patients. Given that cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are roots of metastasis, targeting CSCs may be a promising strategy to overcome hepatic metastasis in UM. Salinomycin, which has been identified as a selective inhibitor of CSCs in multiple types of cancer, may be an attractive agent against CSCs thereby restrain hepatic metastasis in UM. The objective of the study is to explore the antitumor activity of salinomycin against UM and clarify its underlying mechanism. METHODS UM cells were treated with salinomycin, and its effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, CSCs population, and the related signal transduction pathways were determined. The in vivo antitumor activity of salinomycin was evaluated in the NOD/SCID UM xenograft model and intrasplenic transplantation liver metastasis mouse model. RESULTS We found that salinomycin remarkably obviated growth and survival in UM cell lines and in a UM xenograft mouse model. Meanwhile, salinomycin significantly eliminated CSCs and efficiently hampered hepatic metastasis in UM liver metastasis mouse model. Mechanistically, Twist1 was fundamental for the salinomycin-enabled CSCs elimination and migration/invasion blockage in UM cells. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that targeting UM CSCs by salinomycin is a promising therapeutic strategy to hamper hepatic metastasis in UM. These results provide the first pre-clinical evidence for further testing of salinomycin for its antitumor efficacy in UM patients with hepatic metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingfeng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Shenglan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Yun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Hailin Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Shubo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingxuan Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China.
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Sakunrangsit N, Ketchart W. Plumbagin inhibits cancer stem-like cells, angiogenesis and suppresses cell proliferation and invasion by targeting Wnt/β-catenin pathway in endocrine resistant breast cancer. Pharmacol Res 2019; 150:104517. [PMID: 31693936 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2019.104517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Fifty percent of advanced stage ER-positive breast cancer patients develop endocrine resistance. Aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin is associated with stem-like phenotypes and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process which confers resistance to endocrine therapy. Cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) can be a vital source of proangiogenic factors including fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) which drives angiogenesis and leads to tumor growth and metastasis. Therefore, targeting Wnt and FGF2 may provide effective treatment for endocrine resistant breast cancer. Our previous in vitro study reported that plumbagin (PLB) was a potent anticancer agent and was able to inhibit EMT in endocrine-resistant cells. This study aimed to further investigate the inhibitory effects of PLB on cancer stem-like phenotypes, tumorigenicity and angiogenesis. The results demonstrated Wnt/β-catenin signaling was activated and was able to form mammospheres with increased cancer stem cell markers (ALDH1, NANOG, and OCT4) in endocrine-resistant cells. PLB significantly inhibited colony-forming, mammosphere formation and decreased cancer stem cell markers. The inhibitory effects of PLB on cell proliferation and invasion were mediated by Wnt signaling pathway. PLB also significantly reduced Wnt responsive genes and β-catenin. Moreover, PLB treatment at doses of 2 and 4 mg/kg/day inhibited tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis without any adverse effects on body weight and blood coagulation in orthotopic xenograft nude mice. In conclusion, PLB exerted anti-cancer activity and eliminated stem-like properties by attenuating Wnt/β-catenin signaling and FGF2 expression. These findings suggest that PLB could be a promising agent to treat endocrine resistant breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nithidol Sakunrangsit
- Overcoming Cancer Drug Resistance Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Wannarasmi Ketchart
- Overcoming Cancer Drug Resistance Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
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Zhang J, Liu S, Ye Q, Pan J. Transcriptional inhibition by CDK7/9 inhibitor SNS-032 abrogates oncogene addiction and reduces liver metastasis in uveal melanoma. Mol Cancer 2019; 18:140. [PMID: 31526394 PMCID: PMC6745806 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-019-1070-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Life of patients with uveal melanoma (UM) is largely threatened by liver metastasis. Little is known about the drivers of liver organotropic metastasis in UM. The elevated activity of transcription of oncogenes is presumably to drive aspects of tumors. We hypothesized that inhibition of transcription by cyclin-dependent kinase 7/9 (CDK7/9) inhibitor SNS-032 diminished liver metastasis by abrogating the putative oncogenes in charge of colonization, stemness, cell motility of UM cells in host liver microenvironment. Methods The effects of SNS-032 on the expression of the relevant oncogenes were examined by qRT-PCR and Western blotting analysis. Proliferative activity, frequency of CSCs and liver metastasis were evaluated by using NOD-SCID mouse xenograft model and NOG mouse model, respectively. Results The results showed that CDK7/9 were highly expressed in UM cells, and SNS-032 significantly suppressed the cellular proliferation, induced apoptosis, and inhibited the outgrowth of xenografted UM cells and PDX tumors in NOD-SCID mice, repressed the cancer stem-like cell (CSC) properties through transcriptional inhibition of stemness-related protein Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), inhibited the invasive phonotypes of UM cells through matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9). Mechanistically, SNS-032 repressed the c-Myc-dependent transcription of RhoA gene, and thereby lowered the RhoA GTPase activity and actin polymerization, and subsequently inhibited cell motility and liver metastasis. Conclusions In conclusion, we validate a set of transcription factors which confer metastatic traits (e.g., KLF4 for CSCs, c-Myc for cell motility) in UM cells. Our results identify SNS-032 as a promising therapeutic agent, and warrant a clinical trial in patients with metastatic UM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Shenglan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Qianyun Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingxuan Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, 510060, People's Republic of China
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Abstract
Osteosarcoma is the most common bone sarcoma and is one of the cancer entities characterized by the highest level of heterogeneity in humans. This heterogeneity takes place not only at the macroscopic and microscopic levels, with heterogeneous micro-environmental components, but also at the genomic, transcriptomic and epigenetic levels. Recent investigations have revealed the existence in osteosarcoma of cancer cells with stemness properties. Cancer stem cells are characterized by their specific phenotype and low cycling capacity, and are linked to drug resistance, tumour growth and the metastatic process. In addition, cancer stem cells contribute to the enrichment of tumour heterogeneity. The present manuscript will describe the main characteristic features of cancer stem cells in osteosarcoma and will discuss their impact on maintaining tumour heterogeneity. Their clinical implications will also be briefly addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Schiavone
- INSERM, European Associated Laboratory "Sarcoma Research Unit", Department of Oncology and Metabolism, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Delphine Garnier
- INSERM, Institut de Cancérologie de l'Ouest, CRCINA, Université de Nantes, Université d'Angers, Saint Herblain, France
| | - Marie-Francoise Heymann
- INSERM, Institut de Cancérologie de l'Ouest, CRCINA, Université de Nantes, Université d'Angers, Saint Herblain, France
| | - Dominique Heymann
- INSERM, European Associated Laboratory "Sarcoma Research Unit", Department of Oncology and Metabolism, Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
- INSERM, Institut de Cancérologie de l'Ouest, CRCINA, Université de Nantes, Université d'Angers, Saint Herblain, France.
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Zhang H, Li G, Chen G, Zhang Y, Pan J, Tang H, Li J, Guo W, Zhang S. Targeting Mcl-1 inhibits survival and self-renewal of hepatocellular cancer stem-like cells. Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol 2019; 43:292-300. [PMID: 30528319 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinre.2018.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) is highly expressed in tumor tissues and cells of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), yet the role of Mcl-1 in cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) remains largely unclear. Herein, we showed that knockdown of Mcl-1 significantly inhibited HCC cells to form spheres under ultra-low attachment condition in serum-free medium, and also attenuated clone formation. Inhibition of Mcl-1 by specific inhibitors S63845 or A-1210477 hindered secondary sphere formation, triggered apoptosis signaling and reduced the level of stem cell transcription factor Nanog, Sox2 and KLF4 in HCC spheroids cells. This study suggests that Mcl-1 is an essential factor for the survival and self-renewal of HCC CSLCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huapeng Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Gongquan Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Guanghui Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Jie Pan
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Hongwei Tang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Wenzhi Guo
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China
| | - Shuijun Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases and Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China; Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, Henan, PR China.
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Mawaribuchi S, Onuma Y, Aiki Y, Kuriyama Y, Mutoh M, Fujii G, Ito Y. The rBC2LCN-positive subpopulation of PC-3 cells exhibits cancer stem-like properties. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019; 515:176-82. [PMID: 31133376 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2019.05.108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The recombinant lectin rBC2LCN is a useful marker for discriminating the undifferentiated status of human induced or embryonic stem cells. Recently, rBC2LCN has also been used for detecting some cancers and niche cells. However, the generality of which types of cells are detected by rBC2LCN is unclear. In this study, we demonstrated the potential of rBC2LCN as a probe for detecting and isolating cancer stem-like cells. Interestingly, flow cytometric analysis of various human cell lines indicated that the human prostate cancer cell line PC-3 consisted of rBC2LCN-positive and -negative subpopulations. Compared with the rBC2LCN-negative subpopulation, the rBC2LCN-positive subpopulation possessed representative features of cancer stem cells and malignancy, such as slow proliferation, increased cell motility, anchorage-independent growth, and drug resistance. The comprehensive expression profiles revealed that the rBC2LCN-positive subpopulation expressed higher levels of cancer stem cell markers. These findings indicate that rBC2LCN is useful for detecting not only pluripotent stem cells but also the cancer stem-like subpopulation of PC-3 cells. Pluripotent and cancer cells with rBC2LCN positivity would be important for future stem cell research.
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Mohiuddin IS, Wei SJ, Kang MH. Role of OCT4 in cancer stem-like cells and chemotherapy resistance. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2020; 1866:165432. [PMID: 30904611 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2019.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) contribute to the tumorigenicity, progression, and chemoresistance of cancers. It is not known whether CSCs arise from normal stem cells or if they arise from differentiated cancer cells by acquiring self-renewal features. These CSCs share stem cell markers that normal stem cells express. There is a rising interest in octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), one of the stem cell factors that are essential in embryogenesis and pluripotency. OCT4 is also overexpressed in CSCs of various cancers. Although the majority of the studies in CSCs reported a positive association between the expression of OCT4 and chemoresistance and an inverse correlation between OCT4 and clinical prognosis, there are studies rebuking these findings, possibly due to the sparsity of stem cells within tumors and the heterogeneity of tumors. In addition, post-translational modification of OCT4 affects its activity and warrants further investigation for its association with chemoresistance and prognosis.
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Zhong H, Brown S, Devpura S, Li XA, Chetty IJ. Kinetic modeling of tumor regression incorporating the concept of cancer stem-like cells for patients with locally advanced lung cancer. Theor Biol Med Model 2018; 15:23. [PMID: 30587218 PMCID: PMC6307263 DOI: 10.1186/s12976-018-0096-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Personalized medicine for patients receiving radiation therapy remains an elusive goal due, in part, to the limits in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing tumor response to radiation. The purpose of this study was to develop a kinetic model, in the context of locally advanced lung cancer, connecting cancer cell subpopulations with tumor volumes measured during the course of radiation treatment for understanding treatment outcome for individual patients. Methods The kinetic model consists of three cell compartments: cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), non-stem tumor cells (TCs) and dead cells (DCs). A set of ordinary differential equations were developed to describe the time evolution of each compartment, and the analytic solution of these equations was iterated to be aligned with the day-to-day tumor volume changes during the course of radiation treatment. A least squares fitting method was used to estimate the parameters of the model that include the proportion of CSCs and their radio-sensitivities. This model was applied to five patients with stage III lung cancer, and tumor volumes were measured from 33 cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images for each of these patients. The analytical solution of these differential equations was compared with numerically simulated results. Results For the five patients with late stage lung cancer, the derived proportions of CSCs are 0.3 on average, the average probability of the symmetry division is 0.057 and the average surviving fractions of CSCs is 0.967, respectively. The derived parameters are comparable to the results from literature and our experiments. The preliminary results suggest that the CSC self-renewal rate is relatively small, compared to the proportion of CSCs for locally advanced lung cancers. Conclusions A novel mathematical model has been developed to connect the population of cancer stem-like cells with tumor volumes measured from a sequence of CBCT images. This model may help improve our understanding of tumor response to radiation therapy, and is valuable for development of new treatment regimens for patients with locally advanced lung cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hualiang Zhong
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 53226, WI, USA.
| | - Stephen Brown
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, 48202, MI, USA
| | - Suneetha Devpura
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, 48202, MI, USA
| | - X Allen Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 53226, WI, USA
| | - Indrin J Chetty
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, 48202, MI, USA
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Gao W, Wu D, Wang Y, Wang Z, Zou C, Dai Y, Ng CF, Teoh JYC, Chan FL. Development of a novel and economical agar-based non-adherent three-dimensional culture method for enrichment of cancer stem-like cells. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018; 9:243. [PMID: 30257704 PMCID: PMC6158801 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-018-0987-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Non-adherent or ultra-low attachment three-dimensional (3D) culture, also called sphere formation assay, has been widely used to assess the malignant phenotype and stemness potential of transformed or cancer cells. This method is also popularly used to isolate the cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) or tumor-initiating cells based on their unique anchorage-independent growth or anoikis-resistant capacity. Different non-adhesive coating agents, such as poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (poly-HEMA) and synthetic hydrogels, have been used in this non-adherent 3D culture. However, preparation of non-adherent culture-ware is labor-intensive and technically demanding, and also costs of commercial non-adherent culture-ware prepared with various coating agents are relatively expensive and the culture-ware cannot be used repeatedly. METHODS In this study, we developed a non-adherent 3D culture method based on agar coating for growing tumor spheres derived from various cancer cell lines and primary prostate cancer tissues under a non-adherent and serum-free condition. The tumor spheres generated by this 3D culture method were analyzed on their expression profiles of CSC-associated markers by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, presence and relative proportion of CSCs by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (CD133+/CD44+ cell sorting) and also a CSC-visualizing reporter system responsive to OCT4 and SOX2 (SORE6), and in vivo tumorigenicity. The repeated use of agar-coated plates for serial passages of tumor spheres was also evaluated. RESULTS Our results validated that the multicellular tumor spheres generated by this culture method were enriched of CSCs, as evidenced by their enhanced expression profiles of CSC markers, presence of CD133+/CD44+ or SORE6+ cells, enhanced self-renewal capacity, and in vivo tumorigenicity, indicating its usefulness in isolation and enrichment of CSCs. The agar-coated plates could be used multiple times in serial passages of tumor spheres. CONCLUSIONS The described agar-based 3D culture method offers several advantages as compared with other methods in isolation of CSCs, including its simplicity and low-cost and repeated use of agar-coated plates for continuous passages of CSC-enriched spheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weijie Gao
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dinglan Wu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. .,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Viral Oncology, The Clinical Innovation & Research Center, Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, 518110, China.
| | - Yuliang Wang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhu Wang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chang Zou
- Clinical Medical Research Center, The Second Clinical Medical School of Jinan University, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, 518000, China
| | - Yong Dai
- Clinical Medical Research Center, The Second Clinical Medical School of Jinan University, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, 518000, China
| | - Chi-Fai Ng
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jeremy Yuen-Chun Teoh
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Franky Leung Chan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
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da Silva-Diz V, Lorenzo-Sanz L, Bernat-Peguera A, Lopez-Cerda M, Muñoz P. Cancer cell plasticity: Impact on tumor progression and therapy response. Semin Cancer Biol 2018; 53:48-58. [PMID: 30130663 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2018.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 08/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Most tumors exhibit intra-tumor heterogeneity, which is associated with disease progression and an impaired response to therapy. Cancer cell plasticity has been proposed as being an important mechanism that, along with genetic and epigenetic alterations, promotes cancer cell diversity and contributes to intra-tumor heterogeneity. Plasticity endows cancer cells with the capacity to shift dynamically between a differentiated state, with limited tumorigenic potential, and an undifferentiated or cancer stem-like cell (CSC) state, which is responsible for long-term tumor growth. In addition, it confers the ability to transit into distinct CSC states with different competence to invade, disseminate and seed metastasis. Cancer cell plasticity has been linked to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition program and relies not only on cell-autonomous mechanisms, but also on signals provided by the tumor microenvironment and/or induced in response to therapy. We provide an overview of the dynamic transition for cancer cell states, the mechanisms governing cell plasticity and their impact on tumor progression, metastasis and therapy response. Understanding the mechanisms involved in cancer cell plasticity will provide insights for establishing new therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Lorenzo-Sanz
- Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program (PEBC), Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adrià Bernat-Peguera
- Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program (PEBC), Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Lopez-Cerda
- Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program (PEBC), Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Purificación Muñoz
- Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program (PEBC), Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain.
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Cai MH, Xu XG, Yan SL, Sun Z, Ying Y, Wang BK, Tu YX. Regorafenib suppresses colon tumorigenesis and the generation of drug resistant cancer stem-like cells via modulation of miR-34a associated signaling. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2018; 37:151. [PMID: 30005681 PMCID: PMC6045878 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-018-0836-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies in the world and developed drug resistance has represented one of the most challenging tasks for management. The current therapeutic regimens may select and enrich cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) resulting in the increased resistance against treatment, metastatic potential and mortality. Regorafenib is a multi-kinase inhibitor, an FDA-approved last-of-line treatment for patients with chemo-refractory metastatic CRC. However, regorafenib’s potential effects on CSCs have not been fully elucidated. Methods Here, we developed two 5-FU resistant CRC cell lines, HCT-116R and DLD-1R and showed the increased CSCs characteristics such as increased side-population cells, tumor sphere formation and expression of stemness markers. These cell lines and CSCs properties were used for evaluating the potential of regorafenib in suppressing CSCs. Results We showed that regorafenib treatment decreased the stemness phenotypes including tumor sphere formation, and side-population, of both HCT-116R and DLD-1R cells. Additionally, regorafenib suppressed the cell viability in both cell lines synergistically with 5-FU. In vivo, the combination of regorafenib and 5-FU significantly suppressed the tumorigenesis and stemness markers of 5-FU resistant DLD-1R. Mechanistically, regorafenib-mediated effects were associated with the induction of tumor suppressor miR-34a and suppression of WNT/β-catenin signaling. Our findings demonstrated that regorafenib treatment was associated with the increased level of miR-34a, resulting in reversing drug resistance and cancer-initiating cell phenotypes by degrading WNT/β-catenin in CRC. Conclusion Regorafenib might be a potential drug for colon cancer stem-like cells and it should be investigated in future clinical trials. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-018-0836-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mao-Hua Cai
- Department of General Surgery, Chun'an First People's Hospital (Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital Chun'an Branch), Hangzhou, 311700, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Xiao-Gang Xu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education, Institute of Feed Science, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Shi-Li Yan
- Department of General Surgery, Chun'an First People's Hospital (Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital Chun'an Branch), Hangzhou, 311700, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Ze Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Chun'an First People's Hospital (Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital Chun'an Branch), Hangzhou, 311700, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yin Ying
- Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, 310007, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Bai-Kui Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education, Institute of Feed Science, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yue-Xing Tu
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, No. 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
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Teryukova NP, Malkova VV, Sakhenberg EI, Ivanov VA, Bezborodkina NN, Snopov SA. On reprogramming of tumor cells metabolism: detection of glycogen in the cell lines of hepatocellular origin with various degrees of dedifferentiation. Cytotechnology 2018; 70:879-890. [PMID: 29445895 PMCID: PMC5851979 DOI: 10.1007/s10616-018-0200-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The reprogramming of cancer cells includes shifts in glucose and glycogen metabolism. The aim of our work was to check the ability of forming glycogen grains in hepatocellular tumor cell lines of various dedifferentiation levels. We studied the monolayer culture established in vitro after explanting cells from rat ascites Zajdela hepatoma strain C (ZH-C) as a "parental" line and its five daughter clonal sublines: the holoclonal sublines 3H, 5F, 6H and the meroclonal ones 1E, 9C, which possess, respectively, the properties of cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) and cancer progenitor-like cells (CPLCs). Besides, we studied four permanent cell lines of a rat hepatoma HTC, two murine hepatomas BWTG3 and MH-22a, and human hepatoblastoma HepG2. We used normal rat hepatocytes as positive control cells that form glycogen. We estimated relative cell dedifferentiation levels of the studied lines via analysis of cell morphology, morphometry and motility character on stained cell preparations and lifetime video files. Glycogen in the cells was detected using a Schiff type Au-SO2 reagent. All studied hepatocellular tumor lines were not of equal dedifferentiation level as manifested by different nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, by epithelium-like or fibroblast-like morphology, by tight or loosen intercellular contacts, by cell migration of collective or individual types. Glycogen fluorescence of uneven intensity was observed in all normal rat hepatocytes, but only in some cell groups or in single cells of hepatocellular tumor lines. The large or small fluorescent grains were found not only in relatively less dedifferentiated parental ZH-C line, BWTG3 and HepG2 lines, but also in moderately dedifferentiated 1E and HTC lines and even in severely dedifferentiated 3H, 5F and 6H sublines, as well as in the islets of the rat ascites hepatoma induced in vivo by the injection of 3H cells (the tumor-initiating cells). On the other hand, MH-22 and 9C lines, being relatively less and moderately dedifferentiated, showed no glycogen fluorescence. Thus, in 10 tumor cell lines of hepatocellular origin, an ability to reserve glycogen manifested no obvious dependency on their dedifferentiation level. Glycogen grains were detected in some cells even of the severely dedifferentiated lines: in single CSLCs of holoclonal ZH sublines grown in vitro and in a majority of tumor-initiating cells derived from ascites hepatoma in vivo. We suggest that dynamic changes in glycogen formation in CSLCs and tumor-initiating cells might be of importance for their dedifferentiation, self-renewal in vitro, survival and metastasis in vivo. The role of glycogen in maintaining viability and metastasis of tumor cells is to be further studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalya P. Teryukova
- Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky ave. 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia 194064
| | | | - Elena I. Sakhenberg
- Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky ave. 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia 194064
| | - Vadim A. Ivanov
- Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky ave. 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia 194064
| | - Natalia N. Bezborodkina
- Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky ave. 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia 194064
| | - Sergei A. Snopov
- Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky ave. 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia 194064
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Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may contribute to carcinogenesis and tumor progression by regulating transcription and gene expression. The role of lncRNAs in the regulation of thyroid cancer progression is being extensively examined. Here, we analyzed three lncRNAs that were overexpressed in papillary thyroid carcinomas, long intergenic non-protein coding RNA, regulator of reprogramming (Linc-ROR, ROR) PVT1 oncogene (PVT1), and HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) to determine their roles in thyroid tumor development and progression. ROR expression has not been previously examined in thyroid carcinomas. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 129 thyroid cases of benign and malignant tissues were analyzed by in situ hybridization (ISH), automated image analysis, and real-time PCR. All three lncRNAs were most highly expressed in the nuclei of PTCs. SiRNA experiments with a PTC cell line, TPC1, showed inhibition of proliferation with siRNAs for all three lncRNAs while invasion was inhibited with siRNAs for ROR and HOTAIR. SiRNA experiments with ROR also led to increased expression of miR-145, supporting the role of ROR as an endogenous miR-145 sponge. After treatment with TGF-β, there was increased expression of ROR, PVT1, and HOTAIR in the PTC1 cell line compared to control groups, indicating an induction of their expression during epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). These results indicate that ROR, PVT1, and HOTAIR have important regulatory roles during the development of PTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ranran Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53792, USA
| | - Heather Hardin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53792, USA
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53792, USA
| | - Darya Buehler
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53792, USA
| | - Ricardo V Lloyd
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.
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Vargová J, Mikeš J, Jendželovský R, Mikešová L, Kuchárová B, Čulka Ľ, Fedr R, Remšík J, Souček K, Kozubík A, Fedoročko P. Hypericin affects cancer side populations via competitive inhibition of BCRP. Biomed Pharmacother 2018; 99:511-522. [PMID: 29665654 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.01.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) are considered a root of tumorigenicity and resistance. However, their identification remains challenging. The use of the side population (SP) assay as a credible marker of CSLCs remains controversial. The SP assay relies on the elevated activity of ABC transporters that, in turn, can be modulated by hypericin (HYP), a photosensitizer and bioactive compound of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), a popular over-the-counter antidepressant. Here we aimed to comprehensively characterize the SP phenotype of cancer cells and to determine the impact of HYP on these cells. METHODS Flow cytometry and sorting-based assays were employed, including CD24-, CD44-, CD133-, and ALDH-positivity, clonogenicity, 3D-forming ability, ABC transporter expression and activity, and intracellular accumulation of HYP/Hoechst 33342. The tumorigenic ability of SP, nonSP, and HYP-treated cells was verified by xenotransplantation into immunodeficient mice. RESULTS The SP phenotype was associated with elevated expression of several investigated transporters and more intensive growth in non-adherent conditions but not with higher clonogenicity, tumorigenicity or ALDH-positivity. Despite stimulated BCRP level and MRP1 activity, HYP reversibly decreased the SP proportion, presumably via competitive inhibition of BCRP. HYP-selected SP cells acquired additional traits of resistance and extensively eliminated HYP. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that SP is not an unequivocal CSLC-marker. However, SP could play an important role in modulating HYP-treatment and serve as a negative predictive tool for HYP-based therapies. Moreover, the use of supplements containing HYP by cancer patients should be carefully considered, due to its proposed effect on drug efflux and complex impact on tumor cells, which have not yet been sufficiently characterized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Vargová
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Jaromír Mikeš
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Rastislav Jendželovský
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Lucia Mikešová
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Barbora Kuchárová
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Ľubomír Čulka
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Radek Fedr
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Královopolská 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic; Center of Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering, International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekařská 53, 656 91, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ján Remšík
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Královopolská 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic; Center of Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering, International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekařská 53, 656 91, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Souček
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Královopolská 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic; Center of Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering, International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekařská 53, 656 91, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Alois Kozubík
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Královopolská 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Fedoročko
- Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, 041 54, Košice, Slovak Republic.
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Nishizawa S, Hirohashi Y, Kusumoto H, Wakamiya T, Iguchi T, Yamashita S, Iba A, Kikkawa K, Kohjimoto Y, Torigoe T, Hara I. Identification of antigenic peptides from novel renal cancer stem-like cell antigen, DNAJB8. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2017; 494:693-9. [PMID: 29107688 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.10.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To identify antigenic peptides of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) antigen, DNAJB8, and establish a mouse CSCs-targeting immunotherapy model. MATERIALS AND METHODS To induce DNAJB8-specific immune reaction, we stimulated human CD8+ lymphocytes with antigen-presenting cells pulsed with a cocktail of three candidate HLA-A*24:02 restricted peptides and assessed peptide specific human cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) induction. One of the antigenic peptides showed identical amino acid sequence as corresponding mouse DNAJB8. We evaluated CTL induction with the peptide immunization in mouse model. RESULTS We confirmed peptide-specific interferon-γ secretions and cytotoxic activities of induced human CTLs. In vivo immunization with the peptide to mice, peptide-specific CTL response could be observed in mouse CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, immunization with the peptide showed significant anti-tumor effects compared with negative controls. CONCLUSION DNAJB8-derived peptide is a novel candidate for CSCs-targeting immunotherapy, and mouse models can be used to evaluate CSCs-targeting immunotherapy.
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Marcucci F, Rumio C, Corti A. Tumor cell-associated immune checkpoint molecules - Drivers of malignancy and stemness. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2017; 1868:571-583. [PMID: 29056539 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2017.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Revised: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Inhibitory or stimulatory immune checkpoint molecules are expressed on a sizeable fraction of tumor cells in different tumor types. It was thought that the main function of tumor cell-associated immune checkpoint molecules would be the modulation (down- or upregulation) of antitumor immune responses. In recent years, however, it has become clear that the expression of immune checkpoint molecules on tumor cells has important consequences on the biology of the tumor cells themselves. In particular, a causal relationship between the expression of these molecules and the acquisition of malignant traits has been demonstrated. Thus, immune checkpoint molecules have been shown to promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tumor cells, the acquisition of tumor-initiating potential and resistance to apoptosis and antitumor drugs, as well as the propensity to disseminate and metastasize. Herein, we review this evidence, with a main focus on PD-L1, the most intensively investigated tumor cell-associated immune checkpoint molecule and for which most information is available. Then, we discuss more concisely other tumor cell-associated immune checkpoint molecules that have also been shown to induce the acquisition of malignant traits, such as PD-1, B7-H3, B7-H4, Tim-3, CD70, CD28, CD137, CD40 and CD47. Open questions in this field as well as some therapeutic approaches that can be derived from this knowledge, are also addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Marcucci
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, via Trentacoste 2, Milan, Italy.
| | - Cristiano Rumio
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, via Trentacoste 2, Milan, Italy.
| | - Angelo Corti
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, DIBIT-Division of Experimental Oncology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, via Olgettina 58, Milan, Italy.
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Zhang J, Kinoh H, Hespel L, Liu X, Quader S, Martin J, Chida T, Cabral H, Kataoka K. Effective treatment of drug resistant recurrent breast tumors harboring cancer stem-like cells by staurosporine/epirubicin co-loaded polymeric micelles. J Control Release 2017; 264:127-35. [PMID: 28842317 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2017.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer recurrence and resistance are associated with cancer stem-like cell (CSC) sub-populations. As conventional therapies fail to treat CSCs, institution of novel therapeutic strategies capable of eradicating both cancer cells and CSCs is central for achieving effective treatments with long-term survival. Here, we studied the ability of polymeric micelles cooperatively loading the cytotoxic drug epirubicin (Epi) and the CSC inhibitor staurosporine (STS) to treat breast tumors, particularly when tumors relapsed after chemotherapy. The STS/Epi-loaded micelles (STS/Epi/m) demonstrated potent therapeutic efficacy against both naïve orthotopic 4T1-luc breast tumors and their recurrent Epi-resistant counterparts, significantly prolonging survival. This efficacy enhancement of STS/Epi/m was correlated with the ability of the micelles to suppress the CSC-associated sub-populations of breast cancer, i.e. the aldehyde dehydrogenase-positive (ALDH+) population and the CD44+/CD24- fraction, in Epi-resistant cells and tumors. These results demonstrated STS/Epi/m as a promising strategy for effective management of breast cancer.
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Zhang X, Guo Z, Liu J, Tian G, Chen K, Yu S, Gu Z. Near infrared light triggered nitric oxide releasing platform based on upconversion nanoparticles for synergistic therapy of cancer stem-like cells. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2017; 62:985-96. [PMID: 36659502 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2017.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Near infrared (NIR) light-driven nitric oxide (NO) release nano-platform based on upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and light sensitive NO precursor Roussin's black salt (RBS) was fabricated to generate NO upon 808nm irradiation. The application of 808nm laser as the excitation source could achieve better penetration depth and avoid overheating problem. The combination of UCNPs and RBS could realize the on-demand release of NO at desired time and location by simply controlling the output of NIR laser. Cellular uptake results showed that more nanoparticles were internalized in cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) rather than non-CSCs. Therefore, a synergistic cancer therapy strategy to eradicate both CSCs and non-CSCs simultaneously was developed. Traditional chemo-drug could inhibit non-CSCs but has low killing efficiency in CSCs. However, we found that the combination of NO and chemotherapy could efficiently inhibit CSCs in bulk cells, including inhibiting mammosphere formation ability, decreasing CD44+/CD24- subpopulation and reducing tumorigenic ability. The mechanism studies confirmed that NO could not only induce apoptosis but also increase drug sensitivity by declining drug efflux in CSCs. This UCNPs-based platform may provide a new combinatorial strategy of NO and chemotherapy to improve cancer treatment.
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Liu Q, Cui X, Yu X, Bian BSJ, Qian F, Hu XG, Ji CD, Yang L, Ren Y, Cui W, Zhang X, Zhang P, Wang JM, Cui YH, Bian XW. Cripto-1 acts as a functional marker of cancer stem-like cells and predicts prognosis of the patients in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Mol Cancer 2017; 16:81. [PMID: 28431580 PMCID: PMC5399850 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-017-0650-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2016] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is highly malignant with highly invasive and metastatic capabilities and poor prognosis. It is believed that the ESCC cancer stem-like cells (ECSLCs) are critical for tumorigenicity, invasion and metastasis of ESCC. However, the properties of ECSLCs vary with different markers used in isolation, so that new and more effective markers of ECSLCs need to be identified. This study aimed to estimate the potentiality of Cripto-1 (CR-1) as an ECSLC surface marker and investigate the clinical significance of CR-1 expression in ESCC. Methods ESCC cells with CR-1 high or CR-1low were obtained by flow cytometry then their self-renewal capability and tumorigenicity were compared by colony and limiting dilution sphere formation analysis in vitro and xenograft in nude mice in vivo, respectively. Knockdown of CR-1 expression in ESCC cells was conducted with short hairpin RNA. Cell migration and invasion were examined by scratch test and matrigel transwell assay, respectively. Metastatic capability of ESCC cells was assayed by a mouse tail vein metastasis model. The levels of CR-1 expression in cancerous and paired adjacent normal tissues were assessed by IHC and qRT-RCR. Results CR-1high subpopulation of ESCC cells isolated by FACS expressed high level of genes related to stemness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and possessed high capacities of self-renewal, tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis. Suppression of CR-1 expression significantly reduced the expression of stemness- and EMT-related genes and the capabilities of self-renewal in vitro, tumorigenicity and metastasis in vivo in ESCC cells. In the clinical ESCC specimens, the expression levels of CR-1 in cancerous tissues were positively correlated to TNM stage, invasive depth, and lymph node metastasis. Cox regression analysis indicated that CR-1 was an independent indicator of prognosis. The expression of CR-1 was found overlapping with aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1), an intracellular marker for ESCLCs, in ESCC cell lines and specimens. Conclusions CR-1 is a functional and cell surface ECSLC marker, and an independent prognostic indicator as well as a potential therapeutic target for ESCC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-017-0650-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Liu
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Xiang Cui
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China.,Breast Disease Center, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xi Yu
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Bai-Shi-Jiao Bian
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Feng Qian
- Department of General Surgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xu-Gang Hu
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Cheng-Dong Ji
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Lang Yang
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Yong Ren
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Wei Cui
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Xia Zhang
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Ji Ming Wang
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - You-Hong Cui
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China.
| | - Xiu-Wu Bian
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, and Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology of Ministry of Education of China, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China.
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Yoshida GJ. Therapeutic strategies of drug repositioning targeting autophagy to induce cancer cell death: from pathophysiology to treatment. J Hematol Oncol 2017; 10:67. [PMID: 28279189 PMCID: PMC5345270 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-017-0436-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 164] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the researcher that discovered autophagy, which is an evolutionally conserved catabolic process which degrades cytoplasmic constituents and organelles in the lysosome. Autophagy plays a crucial role in both normal tissue homeostasis and tumor development and is necessary for cancer cells to adapt efficiently to an unfavorable tumor microenvironment characterized by hypo-nutrient conditions. This protein degradation process leads to amino acid recycling, which provides sufficient amino acid substrates for cellular survival and proliferation. Autophagy is constitutively activated in cancer cells due to the deregulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, which enables them to adapt to hypo-nutrient microenvironment and exhibit the robust proliferation at the pre-metastatic niche. That is why just the activation of autophagy with mTOR inhibitor often fails in vain. In contrast, disturbance of autophagy–lysosome flux leads to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and an unfolded protein response (UPR), which finally leads to increased apoptotic cell death in the tumor tissue. Accumulating evidence suggests that autophagy has a close relationship with programmed cell death, while uncontrolled autophagy itself often induces autophagic cell death in tumor cells. Autophagic cell death was originally defined as cell death accompanied by large-scale autophagic vacuolization of the cytoplasm. However, autophagy is a “double-edged sword” for cancer cells as it can either promote or suppress the survival and proliferation in the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, several studies of drug re-positioning suggest that “conventional” agents used to treat diseases other than cancer can have antitumor therapeutic effects by activating/suppressing autophagy. Because of ever increasing failure rates and high cost associated with anticancer drug development, this therapeutic development strategy has attracted increasing attention because the safety profiles of these medicines are well known. Antimalarial agents such as artemisinin and disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) are the typical examples of drug re-positioning which affect the autophagy regulation for the therapeutic use. This review article focuses on recent advances in some of the novel therapeutic strategies that target autophagy with a view to treating/preventing malignant neoplasms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Go J Yoshida
- Department of Pathological Cell Biology, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan. .,Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan.
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Guo X, Yu L, Zhang Z, Dai G, Gao T, Guo W. miR-335 negatively regulates osteosarcoma stem cell-like properties by targeting POU5F1. Cancer Cell Int 2017; 17:29. [PMID: 28239298 PMCID: PMC5316195 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-017-0398-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Evidence is accumulating to link cancer stem cells to the pathogenesis and progression of osteosarcoma. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of miR-335 in osteosarcoma stem cells. Methods Tumor spheroid culture and flow cytometry were applied to screen out osteosarcoma stem cells. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression level of miR-335 in MG63, U2OS and 143B osteosarcoma stem cells. The relationship of miR-335 expression with osteosarcoma stem cells was then analyzed. Transwell assay and transplantation assay were performed to elucidate biological effects of miR-335 on cell invasion and vivo tumor formation. Western Blot and luciferase assays were executed to investigate the regulation of POU5F1 by miR-335. Results The expression of miR-335 in osteosarcoma stem cells was lower than their differentiated counterparts. Cells expressing miR-335 possessed decreased stem cell-like properties. Gain or loss of function assays were applied to find that miR-335 antagonist promoted stem cell-like properties as well as invasion. Luciferase report and transfection assay showed that POU5F1 was downregulated by miR-335. Pre-miR-335 resulted in tumor enhanced sensitivity to traditional chemotherapy, whereas anti-miR-335 promoted chemoresistance. Finally, the inhibitory effect of miR-335 on in vivo tumor formation showed that combination of pre-miR-335 with cisplatin further reduced the tumor size, and miR-335 brought down the sphere formation capacity induced by cisplatin. Conclusions The current study demonstrates that miR-335 negatively regulates osteosarcoma stem cell-like properties by targeting POU5F1, and miR-335 could target CSCs to synergize with traditional chemotherapeutic agents to overcome osteosarcoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Guo
- Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei China
| | - Ling Yu
- Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei China
| | - Zhengpei Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei China
| | - Guo Dai
- Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei China
| | - Tian Gao
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education, Department of Orthopedic Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Weichun Guo
- Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei China
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