7 CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF S-NITROSO-GLUTATHIONE ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH CISPLATIN AND RADIATION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER CELLS AND MOUSE XENOGRAFT MODEL

Profilin 2 (PFN2) was found to be mainly expressed in neurons and involved in the development of the brain. In recent years, emerging evidence indicated that PFN2 is also significantly upregulated in various cancers including head and neck cancer (HNSC) and influences cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, the role of PFN2 in HNSC development and progression remains unclear. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of PFN2 in the development of HNSC and its possible molecular mechanisms. Bioinformatics showed that increased expression of PFN2 in tumors correlated highly with poor prognosis of HNSC patients. Our results indicated that PFN2 was highly expressed in HNSC tissues and in HNSC cell lines. Knockdown of PFN2 inhibited proliferation, invasion, and migration of HNSC cells, while PFN2 overexpression produced the opposite effects. Using a nude mouse xenograft model, we substantiated the tumor-promoting effect of PFN2 on HNSC in vivo. Furthermore, we found that PFN2 downregulation reduced the phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3β and reduced the expression of β-catenin in HNSC cells. The opposite was observed when PFN2 was overexpressed. Collectively, these results suggest that PFN2 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of HNSC by activating the PI3K/Akt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Although further validation is needed, we speculate that PFN2 plays a crucial role in HNSC and may be a promising therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker.

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Transcriptional Regulation of GDF15 by EGR1 Promotes Head and Neck Cancer Progression through a Positive Feedback Loop

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms222011151 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (20) ◽

pp. 11151

Author(s):

Yanli Jin ◽

Seung-Nam Jung ◽

Mi Ae Lim ◽

Chan Oh ◽

Yudan Piao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

Positive Feedback ◽

Feedback Loop ◽

Transforming Growth Factor ◽

Xenograft Model ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Positive Feedback Loop ◽

Mouse Xenograft Model

Growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), a divergent member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily, has been reported to be overexpressed in different kinds of cancer types. However, the function and mechanism of GDF15 in head and neck cancer (HNC) remains unclear. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data show that the expression of GDF15 is significantly associated with tumor AJCC stage, lymph vascular invasion and tumor grade in HNC. In this study, we confirmed that knockdown of GDF15 attenuated: cell proliferation, migration and invasion via regulation of EMT through a canonical pathway; SMAD2/3 and noncanonical pathways; PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK in HNC cell lines. Furthermore, we found that early growth response 1 (EGR1) was a transcription factor of GDF15. Interestingly, we also demonstrated that GDF15 could regulate the expression of EGR1, which meant a positive feedback loop occurred between these two factors. Moreover, combined inhibition of both GDF15 and EGR1 in a HNC mouse xenograft model showed significantly decreased tumor volume compared to inhibition of EGR1 or GDF15 alone. Our study showed that the GDF15–EGR1 signaling axis may be a good target in HNC patients.

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Arsenic nano complex induced degradation of YAP sensitized ESCC cancer cells to radiation and chemotherapy

Cell & Bioscience ◽

10.1186/s13578-020-00508-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Wei Zhou ◽

Meiyue Liu ◽

Xia Li ◽

Peng Zhang ◽

Jiong Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Radiation Therapy ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Solid Tumors ◽

Xenograft Model ◽

Ros Production ◽

Protective Effects ◽

Migration Ability ◽

Mouse Xenograft ◽

Mouse Xenograft Model

Abstract Background Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by arsenic treatment in solid tumors showed to be effective to sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapies. Arsenic nano compounds are known to increase the ROS production in solid tumors. Methods In this study we developed arsenic–ferrosoferric oxide conjugated Nano Complex (As2S2–Fe3O4, AFCNC) to further promote the ROS induction ability of arsenic reagent in solid tumors. We screen for the molecular pathways that are affect by arsenic treatment in ESCC cancer cells. And explored the underlying molecular mechanism for the arsenic mediated degradations of the key transcription factor we identified in the gene microarray screen. Mouse xenograft model were used to further verify the synthetic effects of AFCNC with chemo and radiation therapies, and the molecular target of arsenic treatment is verified with IHC analysis. Results With gene expression microarray analysis we found Hippo signaling pathway is specifically affected by arsenic treatment, and induced ubiquitination mediated degradation of YAP in KYSE-450 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells. Mechanistically we proved PML physically interacted with YAP, and arsenic induced degradation PML mediated the degradation of YAP in ESCC cells. As a cancer stem cell related transcription factor, YAP 5SA over expressions in cancer cells are correlated with resistance to chemo and radiation therapies. We found AFCNC treatment inhibited the increased invasion and migration ability of YAP 5SA overexpressing KYSE-450 cells. AFCNC treatment also effectively reversed protective effects of YAP 5SA overexpression against cisplatin induced apoptosis in KYSE-450 cells. Lastly, with ESCC mouse xenograft model we found AFCNC combined with cisplatin treatment or radiation therapy significantly reduced the tumor volumes in vivo in the xenograft ESCC tumors. Conclusions Together, these findings suggested besides ROS, YAP is a potential target for arsenic based therapy in ESCC, which should play an important role in the synthetic effects of arsenic nano complex with chemo and radiation therapy.

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