B7-H4 induces epithelial–mesenchymal transition and promotes colorectal cancer stemness

2021 ◽  
pp. 153323
Author(s):  
Ying Feng ◽  
Zhaoting Yang ◽  
Chengye Zhang ◽  
Nan Che ◽  
Xingzhe Liu ◽  
...  
Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Paula I. Escalante ◽  
Luis A. Quiñones ◽  
Héctor R. Contreras

The FOLFOX scheme, based on the association of 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, is the most frequently indicated chemotherapy scheme for patients diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, development of chemoresistance is one of the major challenges associated with this disease. It has been reported that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is implicated in microRNA-driven modulation of tumor cells response to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Moreover, from pharmacogenomic research, it is known that overexpression of genes encoding dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD), thymidylate synthase (TYMS), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), the DNA repair enzymes ERCC1, ERCC2, and XRCC1, and the phase 2 enzyme GSTP1 impair the response to FOLFOX. It has been observed that EMT is associated with overexpression of DPYD, TYMS, ERCC1, and GSTP1. In this review, we investigated the role of miRNAs as EMT promotors in tumor cells, and its potential effect on the upregulation of DPYD, TYMS, MTHFR, ERCC1, ERCC2, XRCC1, and GSTP1 expression, which would lead to resistance of CRC tumor cells to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. This constitutes a potential mechanism of epigenetic regulation involved in late-onset of acquired resistance in mCRC patients under FOLFOX chemotherapy. Expression of these biomarker microRNAs could serve as tools for personalized medicine, and as potential therapeutic targets in the future.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1833
Author(s):  
Tsai-Tsen Liao ◽  
Wei-Chung Cheng ◽  
Chih-Yung Yang ◽  
Yin-Quan Chen ◽  
Shu-Han Su ◽  
...  

Cell migration is critical for regional dissemination and distal metastasis of cancer cells, which remain the major causes of poor prognosis and death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Although cytoskeletal dynamics and cellular deformability contribute to the migration of cancer cells and metastasis, the mechanisms governing the migratory ability of cancer stem cells (CSCs), a nongenetic source of tumor heterogeneity, are unclear. Here, we expanded colorectal CSCs (CRCSCs) as colonospheres and showed that CRCSCs exhibited higher cell motility in transwell migration assays and 3D invasion assays and greater deformability in particle tracking microrheology than did their parental CRC cells. Mechanistically, in CRCSCs, microRNA-210-3p (miR-210) targeted stathmin1 (STMN1), which is known for inducing microtubule destabilization, to decrease cell elasticity in order to facilitate cell motility without affecting the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) status. Clinically, the miR-210-STMN1 axis was activated in CRC patients with liver metastasis and correlated with a worse clinical outcome. This study elucidates a miRNA-oriented mechanism regulating the deformability of CRCSCs beyond the EMT process.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 801
Author(s):  
Joyce Y. Buikhuisen ◽  
Patricia M. Gomez Barila ◽  
Arezo Torang ◽  
Daniëlle Dekker ◽  
Joan H. de Jong ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease that can currently be subdivided into four distinct consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) based on gene expression profiling. The CMS4 subtype is marked by high expression of mesenchymal genes and is associated with a worse overall prognosis compared to other CMSs. Importantly, this subtype responds poorly to the standard therapies currently used to treat CRC. We set out to explore what regulatory signalling networks underlie the CMS4 phenotype of cancer cells, specifically, by analysing which kinases were more highly expressed in this subtype compared to others. We found AKT3 to be expressed in the cancer cell epithelium of CRC specimens, patient derived xenograft (PDX) models and in (primary) cell cultures representing CMS4. Importantly, chemical inhibition or knockout of this gene hampers outgrowth of this subtype, as AKT3 controls expression of the cell cycle regulator p27KIP1. Furthermore, high AKT3 expression was associated with high expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes, and this observation could be expanded to cell lines representing other carcinoma types. More importantly, this association allowed for the identification of CRC patients with a high propensity to metastasise and an associated poor prognosis. High AKT3 expression in the tumour epithelial compartment may thus be used as a surrogate marker for EMT and may allow for a selection of CRC patients that could benefit from AKT3-targeted therapy.


2009 ◽  
Vol 151 (2) ◽  
pp. 202
Author(s):  
K. Bowen ◽  
B.P. Zhou ◽  
H.Q. Doan ◽  
P.G. Rychahou ◽  
B. Evers

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaodu Wang ◽  
Zhiyang Wu ◽  
Likuan Hu

Objectives. We aimed to explore the association between metformin treatment and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype and further appraise the prognostic values of metformin and EMT markers E-cadherin and vimentin for colorectal cancer (CRC) in clinical practice. Methods. We collected specimens and evaluated clinicopathological parameters of 102 stage I to III CRC patients with prediagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM II). Expression of E-cadherin and vimentin in tumors was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 19.0. Results. In correlation tests, we found a lower tumor cell EMT degree (more E-cadherin (P=0.014) and less vimentin (P=0.011) expression in patients who used metformin, and the expression of E-cadherin and vimentin was associated with serum CA19-9 (P=0.048, P=0.009), tumor invasive depth (T) (P<0.001, P=0.045), and lymph invasion (N) (P=0.013, P=0.001). In Cox multivariate regression analysis, E-cadherin was identified as a prognostic factor for disease-free survival (DFS) (P=0.038) and metformin use (P=0.015P=0.044) and lymph invasion (P=0.016P=0.023) were considered as the prognostic factors for both DFS and overall survival (OS). Conclusion. Our study suggested that metformin may impede the EMT process and improve survival for stage I–III CRC patients with DM II.


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