scholarly journals MYC-targeted WDR4 promotes proliferation, metastasis, and sorafenib resistance by inducing CCNB1 translation in hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Xia ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Kequan Xu ◽  
Xiang Jiang ◽  
Meng Gao ◽  
...  

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. However, there still remains a lack of effective diagnostic and therapeutic targets for this disease. Increasing evidence demonstrates that RNA modifications play an important role in the progression of HCC, but the role of the N7-methylguanosine (m7G) methylation modification in HCC has not been properly evaluated. Thus, the goal of the present study was to investigate the function and mechanism of the m7G methyltransferase WD repeat domain 4 (WDR4) in HCC as well as its clinical relevance and potential value. We first verified the high expression of WDR4 in HCC and observed that upregulated WDR4 expression increased the m7G methylation level in HCC. WDR4 promoted HCC cell proliferation by inducing the G2/M cell cycle transition and inhibiting apoptosis in addition to enhancing metastasis and sorafenib resistance through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, we observed that c-MYC (MYC) can activate WDR4 transcription and that WDR4 promotes CCNB1 mRNA stability and translation to enhance HCC progression. Mechanistically, we determined that WDR4 enhances CCNB1 translation by promoting the binding of EIF2A to CCNB1 mRNA. Furthermore, CCNB1 was observed to promote PI3K and AKT phosphorylation in HCC and reduce P53 protein expression by promoting P53 ubiquitination. In summary, we elucidated the MYC/WDR4/CCNB1 signalling pathway and its impact on PI3K/AKT and P53. Furthermore, the result showed that the m7G methyltransferase WDR4 is a tumour promoter in the development and progression of HCC and may act as a candidate therapeutic target in HCC treatment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mennatallah Ghouraba ◽  
Razan Masad ◽  
Eric Mpingirika ◽  
Omnia Abdelraheem ◽  
Rached Zeghlache ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacopo Baglieri ◽  
David Brenner ◽  
Tatiana Kisseleva

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most aggressive types of cancer and lacks effective therapeutic approaches. Most HCC develops in the setting of chronic liver injury, hepatic inflammation, and fibrosis. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key players in liver fibrogenesis and hepatocarcinogenesis, respectively. CAFs, which probably derive from HSCs, activate into extracellular matrix (ECM)-producing myofibroblasts and crosstalk with cancer cells to affect tumor growth and invasion. In this review, we describe the different components which form the HCC premalignant microenvironment (PME) and the tumor microenvironment (TME), focusing on the liver fibrosis process and the biology of CAFs. We will describe the CAF-dependent mechanisms which have been suggested to promote hepatocarcinogenesis, such as the alteration of ECM, CAF-dependent production of cytokines and angiogenic factors, CAF-dependent reduction of immuno-surveillance, and CAF-dependent promotion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). New knowledge of the fibrosis process and the role of CAFs in HCC may pave the way for new therapeutic strategies for liver cancer.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiong Lei ◽  
Yahang Liang ◽  
Jian Chen ◽  
Shuai Xiao ◽  
Jian Lei ◽  
...  

Abstract Metastasis-associated recurrence is the main cause for the poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying HCC metastasis remain elusive. Though some data indicated the oncogenic role of Sorcin in tumors, the prognostic value and biological role of Sorcin in HCC is still unknown. In this study, it demonstrated that Sorcin expression levels were significantly upregulated in HCC tumor tissues compared with matched adjacent nontumorous liver tissues and normal liver tissues, and such expression level correlated with HCC metastasis. High Sorcin expression was significantly correlated with aggressive clinicopathological characteristics such as multiple tumor nodules, high Edmondson-Steiner grade, microvascular invasion, advanced TNM stage and advanced BCLC stage (all P < 0.05). HCC patients with high Sorcin expression had both shorter survival and higher recurrence than those with low Sorcin expression (all P < 0.05). Sorcin expression was an independent and significant risk factor for survival and recurrence of HCC patients. Results of functional experiments showed that Sorcin could promote HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, and facilitate HCC growth and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, Sorcin exerted its role by activating extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and promoted metastasis by facilitating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HCC.


Author(s):  
Yanhua Li ◽  
Xia Chen ◽  
Hong Lu

The gene solute carrier family 34 (sodium phosphate), member 2 (SLC34A2), is a member of the SLC34 family. Increasing evidence suggests that SLC34A2 is involved in the development of many human carcinomas. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. Therefore, in this study we investigated the role of SLC34A2 in HCC and explored the underlying mechanism. We found that the expression of SLC34A2 is upregulated in HCC cell lines. Knockdown of SLC34A2 obviously inhibited HCC cell proliferation, migration/invasion, and the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. Furthermore, knockdown of SLC34A2 significantly inhibited the expression of phosphorylated PI3K and AKT in HCC cells. Taken together, these results suggest that knockdown of SLC34A2 inhibits proliferation and migration by suppressing activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in HCC cells, and SLC34A2 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 6499-6510
Author(s):  
Hongjuan Li ◽  
Yaqin Chen ◽  
Chunyan Wu ◽  
Haiyan Zhao ◽  
Xuesong Zhang ◽  
...  

Accumulating reports have identified that long non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs) function as key regulators of tumor initiation and progression. The aim of the current study was to determine the clinical significance and functional role of TINCR in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, the level of IncRNA TINCR expression was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Higher levels of IncRNA TINCR expression were significantly correlated with tumor size and vascular invasion of HCC patients. LncRNA TINCR knockdown inhibited cell proliferation ability, increased the proportion of G1 phase cells, reduced the proportion of S phase cells, and suppressed cell invasion of HCC in vitro. Additionally, IncRNA TINCR knockdown inhibited the HCC cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenomenon by upregulating E-cadherin and reducing N-cadherin expression. We demonstrated that knockdown of IncRNA reduced tumor growth in vivo. Thus, these results indicated that IncRNA TINCR exhibits a tumor oncogenic role in HCC and inhibition of IncRNA TINCR might serve as a therapeutic target for HCC.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shen-Yung Wang ◽  
Chih-Li Chen ◽  
Yu-Chen Hu ◽  
Yi Chi ◽  
Yen-Hua Huang ◽  
...  

MicroRNAs are small RNAs involved in various biological processes and cancer metastasis. miR-196a was associated with aggressive behaviors in several cancers. The role of miR-196a in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis remains unknown. This study aimed to examine the role of miR-196a in HCC progression. Expression of miR-196a was measured in 83 human HCC samples. The HCC patients with high miR-196a expression had younger ages, lower albumin levels, higher frequency with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels ≥20 ng/mL, more macrovascular invasion, and non-early stages. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that high miR-196a expression was associated with lower recurrence-free survival. Knockdown of miR-196a decreased transwell invasiveness, sphere formation, transendothelial invasion, and Slug, Twist, Oct4, and Sox2 expression, suppressed angiogenesis, and reduced sizes of xenotransplants and number of pulmonary metastasis. Down-regulation of miR-196a decreased Runx2 and osteopontin (OPN) levels. Knockdown of Runx2 in vitro resulted in comparable phenotypes with miR-196a down-regulation. Restoration of Runx2 in miR-196a-knockdown HCC reverted tumor phenotypes. This study showed that high expression of miR-196a is associated with HCC progression in a subset of younger patients. miR-196a mediates HCC progression via upregulation of Runx2, OPN, epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulators, and stemness genes. We proposed that miR-196a can be used as a prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Scheau ◽  
Ioana Anca Badarau ◽  
Raluca Costache ◽  
Constantin Caruntu ◽  
Gratiela Livia Mihai ◽  
...  

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a transformation process mandatory for the local and distant progression of many malignant tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play significant roles in cellular regeneration, programmed death, angiogenesis, and many other essential tissular functions, involved in the normal development and also in pathological processes, such as the EMT. This paper reviews the roles of MMPs in the EMT involved in HCC invasion, as well as the ancillary roles that MMP cross-activation and tissue inhibitors play in modulating this process. While gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 are the MMPs commonly cited in the EMT of HCC, MMPs belonging to other classes have been proven to be involved in this process, favoring not only invasion and metastasis (MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-10, MMP-11, MMP-13, MMP-14, MMP-16, MMP-26, and MMP-28) but also angiogenesis (MMP-8 and MMP-10). There is also data suggesting that other MMPs with a suspected or demonstrated role in the EMT of other cancers may also have some degree of involvement in HCC. The auto- and cross-activation of MMPs may complicate this issue, as pinpointing the extent of implication of each MMP may be extremely difficult. The homeostasis between MMPs and their tissue inhibitors is essential in preventing tumor progression, and the disturbance of this stability is another entailed factor in the EMT of HCC, which is addressed herein.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document