scholarly journals SMYD3 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by methylating S1PR1 promoters

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heyun Zhang ◽  
Zhangyu Zheng ◽  
Rongqin Zhang ◽  
Yongcong Yan ◽  
Yaorong Peng ◽  
...  

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. SET and MYND domain-containing protein 3 (SMYD3) has been shown to promote the progression of various types of human cancers, including liver cancer; however, the detailed molecular mechanism is still largely unknown. Here, we report that SMYD3 expression in HCC is an independent prognostic factor for survival and promotes the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. We observed that SMYD3 upregulated sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) promoter activity by methylating histone 3 (H3K4me3). S1PR1 was expressed at high levels in HCC samples, and high S1PR1 expression was associated with shorter survival. S1PR1 expression was also positively correlated with SMYD3 expression in HCC samples. We confirmed that SMYD3 promotes HCC cell growth and migration in vitro and in vivo by upregulating S1PR1 expression. Further investigations revealed that SMYD3 affects critical signaling pathways associated with the progression of HCC through S1PR1. These findings strongly suggest that SMYD3 has a crucial function in HCC progression that is partially mediated by histone methylation at the downstream gene S1PR1, which affects key signaling pathways associated with carcinogenesis and the progression of HCC.

2020 ◽  
Vol 160 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 650-658
Author(s):  
Yichen Le ◽  
Yi He ◽  
Meirong Bai ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Jiaxue Wu ◽  
...  

Ajuba has been found to be mutated or aberrantly regulated in several human cancers and plays important roles in cancer progression via different signaling pathways. However, little is known about the role of Ajuba in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we found an upregulation of Ajuba expression in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues, while a poor prognosis was observed in HCC patients with high Ajuba expression. Knockout of Ajuba in HCC cells inhibited cell growth in vitro and in vivo, suppressed cell migration, and enhanced the cell apoptosis under stress. Moreover, re-expression of Ajuba in Ajuba-deficient cells could restore the phenotype of Ajuba-deficient cells. In conclusion, these results indicate that Ajuba is upregulated in HCC and promotes cell growth and migration of HCC cells, suggesting that Ajuba could possibly be a new target for HCC diagnosis and treatment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Zhang ◽  
Zhendong Liu ◽  
Binchao Liu ◽  
Miaomiao Jiang ◽  
Shi Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Although many biomarkers have been reported for detecting glioma, the prognosis for the disease remains poor, and therefore, new biomarkers need to be identified. GNG5, which is part of the G-protein family, has been associated with different malignant tumors, though the role of GNG5 in glioma has not been studied. Therefore, we aimed to identify the relationship between GNG5 and glioma prognosis and identify a new biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas.Methods: We used data on more than a thousand gliomas from multiple databases and clinical data to determine the expression of GNG5 in glioma. Based on clinical data and CGGA database, we identified the correlation between GNG5 and multiple molecular and clinical features and prognosis using various analytical methods. Co-expression analysis and GSEA were performed to detect GNG5-related genes in glioma and possible signaling pathways involved. ESTIMATE, ssGSEA, and TIMER were used to detect the relationship between GNG5 and the immune microenvironment. Functional experiments were performed to explore the function of GNG5 in glioma cells.Results: GNG5 is highly expressed in gliomas, and its expression level is positively correlated with pathological grade, histological type, age, and tumor recurrence and negatively correlated with isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation, 1p/19 co-deletion, and chemotherapy. Moreover, GNG5 as an independent risk factor was negatively correlated with the overall survival time. GSEA revealed the potential signaling pathways involved in GNG5 function in gliomas, including cell adhesion molecules signaling pathway. The ssGSEA, ESTIMATE, and TIMER based analysis indicated a correlation between GNG5 expression and various immune cells in glioma. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that GNG5 could participate in glioma cell proliferation and migration.Conclusions: Based on the large data platform and the use of different databases to corroborate results obtained using various datasets, as well as in vitro and in vivo experiments, our study reveals for the first time that GNG5, as an oncogene, is overexpressed in gliomas and can inhibit the proliferation and migration of glioma cells and lead to poor prognosis of patients. Thus, GNG5 is a potential novel biomarker for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of gliomas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 168 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuepei Zou ◽  
Zhonghua Sun ◽  
Shuangming Sun

Abstract Long non-coding RNA (lnc) HCG18 has been reported to contribute progression of a variety of tumours. However, its roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. In the current study, we intended to uncover the biological functions of HCG18 in HCC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to detect the expression of HCG18, microRNA-214-3p (miR-214-3p) and centromere protein M (CENPM) messenger RNA (mRNA). The role of HCG18 in the growth and migration were assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay and flow cytometry in vitro and animal experiments in vivo. The results showed that HCG18 was highly expressed in HCC tissues. HCG18 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration while induced the apoptosis of HCC cells. Besides, miR-214-3p was down-regulated in HCC cells. Further experiments revealed that miR-214-3p could directly bind to HCG18 and exerted an anti-tumour role to counteracted siHCG18-1-mediated influence in HCC cells. Moreover, miR-214-3p could directly interact with CENPM mRNA and down-regulating the expression of CENPM. While HCG18 could up-regulate the expression of CENPM through acting as a sponge of miR-214-3p. Therefore, those results suggested HCG18 functioned as an oncogene to promote the proliferation and migration of HCC cells via miR-214-3p/CENPM axis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shihai Liu ◽  
Jing Qiu ◽  
Guifang He ◽  
Weitai He ◽  
Changchang Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractTumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) can induce substantial cytotoxicity in tumor cells but rarely exert cytotoxic activity on non-transformed cells. In the present study, we therefore evaluated interactions between TRAIL and IER3 via co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence analyses, leading us to determine that these two proteins were able to drive the apoptotic death of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and to disrupt their proliferative and migratory abilities both in vitro and in vivo. From a mechanistic perspective, we determined that TRAIL and IER3 were capable of inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Together, these results indicate that TRAIL can control the pathogenesis of HCC at least in part via interacting with IER3 to inhibit Wnt/β-catenin signaling, thus indicating that this TRAIL/IER3/β-catenin axis may be a viable therapeutic target in HCC patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Zhang ◽  
Zhendong Liu ◽  
Binchao Liu ◽  
Miaomiao Jiang ◽  
Shi Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although many biomarkers have been reported for detecting glioma, the prognosis for the disease remains poor, and therefore, new biomarkers need to be identified. GNG5, which is part of the G-protein family, has been associated with different malignant tumors, though the role of GNG5 in glioma has not been studied. Therefore, we aimed to identify the relationship between GNG5 and glioma prognosis and identify a new biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas. Methods We used data on more than a thousand gliomas from multiple databases and clinical data to determine the expression of GNG5 in glioma. Based on clinical data and CGGA database, we identified the correlation between GNG5 and multiple molecular and clinical features and prognosis using various analytical methods. Co-expression analysis and GSEA were performed to detect GNG5-related genes in glioma and possible signaling pathways involved. ESTIMATE, ssGSEA, and TIMER were used to detect the relationship between GNG5 and the immune microenvironment. Functional experiments were performed to explore the function of GNG5 in glioma cells. Results GNG5 is highly expressed in gliomas, and its expression level is positively correlated with pathological grade, histological type, age, and tumor recurrence and negatively correlated with isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation, 1p/19 co-deletion, and chemotherapy. Moreover, GNG5 as an independent risk factor was negatively correlated with the overall survival time. GSEA revealed the potential signaling pathways involved in GNG5 function in gliomas, including cell adhesion molecules signaling pathway. The ssGSEA, ESTIMATE, and TIMER based analysis indicated a correlation between GNG5 expression and various immune cells in glioma. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that GNG5 could participate in glioma cell proliferation and migration. Conclusions Based on the large data platform and the use of different databases to corroborate results obtained using various datasets, as well as in vitro and in vivo experiments, our study reveals for the first time that GNG5, as an oncogene, is overexpressed in gliomas and can inhibit the proliferation and migration of glioma cells and lead to poor prognosis of patients. Thus, GNG5 is a potential novel biomarker for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of gliomas.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3430
Author(s):  
Chifei Kang ◽  
Ran Rostoker ◽  
Sarit Ben-Shumel ◽  
Rola Rashed ◽  
James Andrew Duty ◽  
...  

TMEM176B is a member of the membrane spanning 4-domains (MS4) family of transmembrane proteins, and a putative ion channel that is expressed in immune cells and certain cancers. We aimed to understand the role of TMEM176B in cancer cell signaling, gene expression, cell proliferation, and migration in vitro, as well as tumor growth in vivo. We generated breast cancer cell lines with overexpressed and silenced TMEM176B, and a therapeutic antibody targeting TMEM176B. Proliferation and migration assays were performed in vitro, and tumor growth was evaluated in vivo. We performed gene expression and Western blot analyses to identify the most differentially regulated genes and signaling pathways in cells with TMEM176B overexpression and silencing. Silencing TMEM176B or inhibiting it with a therapeutic antibody impaired cell proliferation, while overexpression increased proliferation in vitro. Syngeneic and xenograft tumor studies revealed the attenuated growth of tumors with TMEM176B gene silencing compared with controls. We found that the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway was activated or repressed in cells overexpressing or silenced for TMEM176B, respectively. Overall, our results suggest that TMEM176B expression in breast cancer cells regulates key signaling pathways and genes that contribute to cancer cell growth and progression, and is a potential target for therapeutic antibodies.


Author(s):  
Jun-Jie Hu ◽  
Cui Zhou ◽  
Xin Luo ◽  
Sheng-Zheng Luo ◽  
Zheng-Hong Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Increasing evidence has demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have regulatory functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The link between lincSCRG1 and HCC remains unclear. Methods To explore the lincSCRG1 regulation axis, bioinformatics, RIP and luciferase reporter assay were performed. The expressions of lincSCRG1-miR26a-SKP2 were detected in HCC tissues and cell lines through qPCR and western blot. The functions of HCC cells were investigated through in vitro assays (MTT, colony formation, transwell and flow cytometry) and the inner effect of lincSCRG1-miR26a in vivo was evaluated by xenografts and liver metatstatic nude mice models. Results LincSCRG1 was found to be strongly elevated in human HCC tissues and cell lines. MiR26a and S phase kinase-related protein 2 (SKP2) were predicted as the target miRNA for lincSCRG1 and the target gene for miR26a with direct binding sites, respectively. LincSCRG1 was verified as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) via negative regulation of miR26a and derepression of SKP2 in HCC cells. Both overexpression of lincSCRG1 (ov-lincSCRG1) and inhibition of miR26a (in-miR26a) obviously stimulated cellular viability, colony formation, migration and proliferation of S phase cells and also significantly increased the protein levels of cyclinD1, CDK4, MMP2/3/9, Vimentin, and N-cadherin or inhibited the protein level of E-cadherin of HCC cells, while knockdown of lincSCRG1 (sh-lincSCRG1) and upregulation of miR26a (mi-miR26a) had the opposite effects on HCC cells. Cotransfection of in-miR26a or overexpression of SKP2 (ov-SKP2) with sh-lincSCRG1 could rescue the anticancer functions of sh-lincSCRG1, including suppressing proliferation and migration of HCC cells. Additionally, sh-lincSCRG1 could effectively inhibit the growth of subcutaneous xenograft tumours and lung metastasis, while the anticancer effect of sh-lincSCRG1 could be reversed by cotransfection of in-miR26a. Conclusions LincSCRG1 acts as a ceRNA of miR26a to restrict its ability to derepress SKP2, thereby inducing the proliferation and migration of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Depletion of lincSCRG1 could be used as a potential therapeutic approach in HCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianye Xu ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Zongpu Zhang ◽  
Zijie Gao ◽  
Yanhua Qi ◽  
...  

AbstractExosomes participate in intercellular communication and glioma microenvironment modulation, but the exact mechanisms by which glioma-derived exosomes (GDEs) promote the generation of the immunosuppressive microenvironment are still unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of GDEs on autophagy, the polarization of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and glioma progression. Compared with normoxic glioma-derived exosomes (N-GDEs), hypoxic glioma-derived exosomes (H-GDEs) markedly facilitated autophagy and M2-like macrophage polarization, which subsequently promoted glioma proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo. Western blot and qRT-PCR analyses indicated that interleukin 6 (IL-6) and miR-155-3p were highly expressed in H-GDEs. Further experiments showed that IL-6 and miR-155-3p induced M2-like macrophage polarization via the IL-6-pSTAT3-miR-155-3p-autophagy-pSTAT3 positive feedback loop, which promotes glioma progression. Our study clarifies a mechanism by which hypoxia and glioma influence autophagy and M2-like macrophage polarization via exosomes, which could advance the formation of the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Our findings suggest that IL-6 and miR-155-3p may be novel biomarkers for diagnosing glioma and that treatments targeting autophagy and the STAT3 pathway may contribute to antitumor immunotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenghui Cheng ◽  
Yawen Zhang ◽  
Yinchao Tian ◽  
Yuhan Chen ◽  
Fei Ding ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Schwann cells (SCs) play a crucial role in the repair of peripheral nerves. This is due to their ability to proliferate, migrate, and provide trophic support to axon regrowth. During peripheral nerve injury, SCs de-differentiate and reprogram to gain the ability to repair nerves. Cysteine-rich 61 (Cyr61/CCN1) is a member of the CCN family of matrix cell proteins and have been reported to be abundant in the secretome of repair mediating SCs. In this study we investigate the function of Cyr61 in SCs. Results We observed Cyr61 was expressed both in vivo and in vitro. The promoting effect of Cyr61 on SC proliferation and migration was through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. SCs expressed αvβ3 integrin and the effect of Cyr61 on SC proliferation and migration could be blocked via αvβ3 integrin. Cyr61 could influence c-Jun protein expression in cultured SCs. Conclusions In this study, we found that Cyr61 promotes SC proliferation and migration via αvβ3 integrin and regulates c-Jun expression. Our study contributes to the understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying SC’s function during nerve injury, and thus, may facilitate the regeneration of peripheral nerves after injury.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
JiangSheng Zhao ◽  
GuoFeng Chen ◽  
Jingqi Li ◽  
Shiqi Liu ◽  
Quan Jin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background PR55α plays important roles in oncogenesis and progression of numerous malignancies. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. This study aims to characterize the functions of PR55α in HCC. Methods PR55α expressions in HCC tissues and paired healthy liver samples were evaluated using Western blot and tissue microarray immunohistochemistry. We knocked down the expression of PR55α in SMMC-7721 and LM3 cell lines via small interfering and lentivirus. In vitro cell counting, colony formation, migration and invasion assays were performed along with in vivo xenograft implantation and lung metastases experiments. The potential mechanisms involving target signal pathways were investigated by RNA-sequencing. Results PR55α expression level was suppressed in HCC tissues in comparison to healthy liver samples. Decreased PR55α levels were correlated with poorer prognosis (P = 0.0059). Knockdown of PR55α significantly promoted cell proliferation and migration, induced repression of the cell cycle progression and apoptosis in vitro while accelerating in vivo HCC growth and metastasis. Mechanistic analysis indicated that PR55α silencing was involved with MAPK/AKT signal pathway activation and resulted in increased phosphorylation of both AKT and ERK1/2. Conclusions This study identifies PR55α to be a candidate novel therapeutic target in the treatment of HCC.


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