scholarly journals FGF21 facilitates autophagy in prostate cancer cells by inhibiting the PI3K–Akt–mTOR signaling pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Dai ◽  
Wenjing Hu ◽  
Lianying Zhang ◽  
Feiyu Jiang ◽  
Xiongmin Mao ◽  
...  

AbstractFibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) plays an important role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, but its role in cancer is less well-studied. We aimed to investigate the action of FGF21 in the development of prostate cancer (PCa). Herein, we found that FGF21 expression was markedly downregulated in PCa tissues and cell lines. FGF21 inhibited the proliferation and clone formation of LNCaP cells (a PCa cell line) and promoted apoptosis. FGF21 also inhibited PCa cell migration and invasiveness. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses revealed that FGF21 was related to autophagy and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase–Akt kinase–mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K–Akt–mTOR) pathway. Mechanistically, FGF21 promoted autophagy in LNCaP cells by inhibiting the PI3K–Akt–mTOR–70S6K pathway. In addition, FGF21 inhibited PCa tumorigenesis in vivo in nude mice. Altogether, our findings show that FGF21 inhibits PCa cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in PCa cells through facilitated autophagy. Therefore, FGF21 might be a potential novel target in PCa therapy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175883592094094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruizhe Zhu ◽  
Gang Yang ◽  
Zhe Cao ◽  
Kexin Shen ◽  
Lianfang Zheng ◽  
...  

Serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (SGK1) is an AGC kinase that has been reported to be involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Recent evidence has accumulated that SGK1 acts as an essential Akt-independent mediator of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in cancer. SGK1 is overexpressed in several tumors, including prostate cancer, colorectal carcinoma, glioblastoma, breast cancer, and endometrial cancer. The functions of SGK1 include regulating tumor growth, survival, metastasis, autophagy, immunoregulation, calcium (Ca2+) signaling, cancer stem cells, cell cycle, and therapeutic resistance. In this review, we introduce the pleiotropic role of SGK1 in the development and progression of tumors, summarize its downstream targets, and integrate the knowledge provided by preclinical studies that the prospect of SGK1 inhibition as a potential therapeutic approach.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojuan Li ◽  
Yunping Tang ◽  
Fangmiao Yu ◽  
Yu Sun ◽  
Fangfang Huang ◽  
...  

We investigated the antitumor mechanism of Anthopleura anjunae oligopeptide (AAP-H, YVPGP) in prostate cancer DU-145 cells in vitro and in vivo. Results indicated that AAP-H was nontoxic and exhibited antitumor activities. Cell cycle analysis indicated that AAP-H may arrest DU-145 cells in the S phase. The role of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian rapamycin target protein (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) signaling pathway in the antitumor mechanism of APP-H was investigated. Results showed that AAP-H treatment led to dose-dependent reduction in the levels of p-AKT (Ser473), p-PI3K (p85), and p-mTOR (Ser2448), whereas t-AKT and t-PI3K levels remained unaltered compared to the untreated DU-145 cells. Inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the DU-145 cells by employing inhibitor LY294002 (10 μM) or rapamycin (20 nM) effectively attenuated AAP-H-induced phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR. At the same time, inhibitor addition further elevated AAP-H-induced cleaved-caspase-3 levels. Furthermore, the effect of AAP-H on tumor growth and the role of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in nude mouse model were also investigated. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that activated AKT, PI3K, and mTOR levels were reduced in DU-145 xenografts. Western blotting showed that AAP-H treatment resulted in dose-dependent reduction in p-AKT (Ser473), p-PI3K (p85), and p-mTOR (Ser2448) levels, whereas t-AKT and t-PI3K levels remained unaltered. Similarly, Bcl-xL levels decreased, whereas that of Bax increased after AAP-H treatment. AAP-H also increased initiator (caspase 8 and 9) and executor caspase (caspase 3 and 7) levels. Therefore, the antitumor mechanism of APP-H on DU-145 cells may involve regulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, which eventually promotes apoptosis via mitochondrial and death receptor pathways. Thus, the hydrophobic oligopeptide (YVPGP) can be developed as an adjuvant for the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer in the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enhui Ma ◽  
Qianqian Wang ◽  
Jinhua Li ◽  
Xinqi Zhang ◽  
Zhenjia Guo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is a kind of malignancy occurring in the prostate gland. Substantial researches have proved the major role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in PCa. However, the role of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 1006 (LINC01006) in PCa has not been investigated yet. Methods RT-qPCR was used to examine the expression levels of LINC01006 and its downstream targets. The function of LINC01006 in PCa was tested by in vitro and in vivo assays. With application of RNA pull down, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and luciferase reporter assays, the interaction among LINC01006, miR-34a-5p and disheveled associated activator of morphogenesis 1 (DAAM1) were verified. Results LINC01006 expression presented high in PCa cell lines. LINC01006 silencing suppressed cell proliferative, migratory, invasive capacities while accelerated apoptotic rate. Besides, LINC01006 knockdown also suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, miR-34a-5p, a tumor suppressor in PCa, was sponged by LINC01006. Moreover, DAAM1 was targeted by miR-34a-5p and promoted PCa progression. More intriguingly, rescue assays suggested that the inhibitory effect of LINC01006 knockdown on PCa development was offset by DAAM1 overexpression. Conclusions LINC01006 promoted PCa progression by sponging miR-34a-5p to up-regulate DAAM1, providing a novel target for PCa therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 316 (1) ◽  
pp. H61-H69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbo Yang ◽  
Zhijun Wu ◽  
Ke Yang ◽  
Yanxin Han ◽  
Yanjia Chen ◽  
...  

Cardiac fibrosis has been known to play an important role in the etiology of heart failure after myocardial infarction (MI). B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI1), a transcriptional repressor, is important for fibrogenesis in the kidneys. However, the effect of BMI1 on ischemia-induced cardiac fibrosis remains unclear. BMI1 was strongly expressed in the infarct region 1 wk post-MI in mice and was detected by Western blot and histological analyses. Lentivirus-mediated overexpression of BMI1 significantly promoted cardiac fibrosis, worsened cardiac function 4 wk after the intervention in vivo, and enhanced the proliferation and migration capabilities of fibroblasts in vitro , whereas downregulation of BMI1 decreased cardiac fibrosis and prevented cardiac dysfunction in mice 4 wk post-MI in vivo. Furthermore, upregulated BMI1 inhibited phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression, enhanced phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) expression, and increased the phosphorylation level of Akt and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in mice 4 wk after lentiviral infection, which was in accordance with the changes seen in their infarcted myocardial tissues. At the same time, the effects of BMI1 on cardiac fibroblasts were reversed in vitro when these cells were exposed to NVP-BEZ235, a dual-kinase (PI3K/mTOR) inhibitor. In conclusion, BMI1 is associated with cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction after MI by regulating cardiac fibroblast proliferation and migration, and these effects could be partially explained by the regulation of the PTEN-PI3K/Akt-mTOR pathway. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Ischemia-induced B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI1) significantly promoted cardiac fibrosis and worsened cardiac function in vivo, whereas downregulation of BMI1 decreased cardiac fibrosis and prevented cardiac dysfunction in myocardial infarcted mice. BMI1 also enhanced proliferation and migration capabilities of fibroblasts in vitro; these effects were reversed by NVP-BEZ235. Effects of BMI1 on cardiac fibrosis could be partially explained by regulation of the phosphatase and tensin homolog-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt-mammalian target of rapamycin pathway.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongheng Ye ◽  
Lingli Zhang ◽  
Yuhu Dai ◽  
Zhi Wang ◽  
Cuie Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Treatment of bone metastasis of prostate cancer remains a formidable challenge. The skeleton has a poorer blood supply, leading to inadequate drug distribution into the bone after administration. This study aimed to develop aptamer-anchored hyperbranched poly (amido amine) (HPAA) for the systemic delivery of miRNA-133a-3p and to evaluate its therapeutic potential against bone metastasis of prostate cancer in vivo and in vitro. A glutathione (GSH)-responsive cationic HPAA was prepared by the Michael addition reaction. Furthermore, HPAA-PEG was produced by PEGylation, and then the aptamer targeted to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) was conjugated to the HPAA-PEG. The obtained HPAA-PEG-APT could form nanocomplexes with miRNA-133a-3p through electrostatic adsorption. The results of immunocytochemistry indicated that the complexes could target PSMA-expressing LNCaP cells. The ability of HPAA-PEG-APT to facilitate the delivery of miRNA-133a-3p into LNCaP cells was proven, and HPAA-PEG-APT/miRNA-133a-3p demonstrated enhanced antitumor activity, lower cytotoxicity and better biocompatibility in vitro. Moreover, in a mouse tibial injection tumor model, the intravenous injection of the HPAA-PEG-APT/miRNA-133a-3p complex significantly inhibited cancer growth and extended the survival time. In summary, this study provided an aptamer-anchored HPAA-loaded gene system to deliver miRNA-133a-3p for better therapeutic efficacy of bone metastasis of prostate cancer.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva B. Nygaard ◽  
Sara G. Vienberg ◽  
Cathrine Ørskov ◽  
Harald S. Hansen ◽  
Birgitte Andersen

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a novel metabolic regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism; however, the exact mechanism of action and regulation of FGF21 is not fully understood. Metabolic status plays an important role in the regulation of FGF21, and we therefore examined whether metformin, an indirect AMPK-activator, regulates FGF21 expression in hepatocytes. FGF21 mRNA and protein expression were determined after incubation of primary cultured rat and human hepatocytes with metformin for 24 hours. To study the role of AMPK in the putative regulation of FGF21, hepatocytes were incubated with Compound C (an AMPK inhibitor) in the presence of metformin. A strong dose-dependent increase in FGF21 expression was observed in both rat and human hepatocytes treated with metformin. This effect was blocked by addition of the AMPK-inhibitor Compound C. The study shows that metformin is a potent inducer of hepatic FGF21 expression and that the effect of metformin seems to be mediated through AMPK activation. As FGF21 therapy normalizes blood glucose in animal models of type 2 diabetes, the induction of hepatic FGF21 by metformin might play an important role in metformin’s antidiabetic effect.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-shan Wan ◽  
Xiang-hong Lu ◽  
Ye-cheng Xiao ◽  
Yuan Lin ◽  
Hong Zhu ◽  
...  

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an important endogenous regulator involved in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. FGF21 expression is strongly induced in animal and human subjects with metabolic diseases, but little is known about the molecular mechanism. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays an essential role in metabolic homeostasis and is observed in numerous pathological processes, including type 2 diabetes, overweight, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we investigate the correlation between the expression of FGF21 and ER stress. We demonstrated that TG-induced ER stress directly regulated the expression and secretion of FGF21 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. FGF21 is the target gene for activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and CCAAT enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP). Suppression of CHOP impaired the transcriptional activation of FGF21 by TG-induced ER stress in CHOP−/− mouse primary hepatocytes (MPH), and overexpression of ATF4 and CHOP resulted in FGF21 promoter activation to initiate the transcriptional programme. In mRNA stability assay, we indicated that ER stress increased the half-life of mRNA of FGF21 significantly. In conclusion, FGF21 expression is regulated by ER stress via ATF- and CHOP-dependent transcriptional mechanism and posttranscriptional mechanism, respectively.


2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  
pp. 1362-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weidong Hu ◽  
Xinming Zhen ◽  
Bin Xiong ◽  
Bicheng Wang ◽  
Weibing Zhang ◽  
...  

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