NR5A2 transcriptional activation by BRD4 promotes pancreatic cancer progression by upregulating GDF15

AbstractNR5A2 is a transcription factor regulating the expression of various oncogenes. However, the role of NR5A2 and the specific regulatory mechanism of NR5A2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are not thoroughly studied. In our study, Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to assess the expression levels of different molecules. Wound-healing, MTS, colony formation, and transwell assays were employed to evaluate the malignant potential of pancreatic cancer cells. We demonstrated that NR5A2 acted as a negative prognostic biomarker in PDAC. NR5A2 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration abilities of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. While NR5A2 overexpression markedly promoted both events in vitro. We further identified that NR5A2 was transcriptionally upregulated by BRD4 in pancreatic cancer cells and this was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-qPCR. Besides, transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to explore the cancer-promoting effects of NR5A2, we found that GDF15 is a component of multiple down-regulated tumor-promoting gene sets after NR5A2 was silenced. Next, we showed that NR5A2 enhanced the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells by inducing the transcription of GDF15. Collectively, our findings suggest that NR5A2 expression is induced by BRD4. In turn, NR5A2 activates the transcription of GDF15, promoting pancreatic cancer progression. Therefore, NR5A2 and GDF15 could be promising therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer.

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Targeted intervention of eIF4A1 inhibits EMT and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells via c-MYC/miR-9 signaling

Cancer Cell International ◽

10.1186/s12935-021-02390-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yuchong Zhao ◽

Yun Wang ◽

Wei Chen ◽

Shuya Bai ◽

Wang Peng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Early Metastasis ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

E Cadherin

Abstract Background Owing to the lack of effective treatment options, early metastasis remains the major cause of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) recurrence and mortality. However, the molecular mechanism of early metastasis is largely unknown. We characterized the function of eukaryotic translation initiation factors (eIFs) in epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and metastasis in pancreatic cancer cells to investigate whether eIFs and downstream c-MYC affect EMT and metastasis by joint interference. Methods We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genome Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases to analyze eIF4A1 expression in PDAC tissues and further validated the findings with a microarray containing 53 PDAC samples. Expression regulation and pharmacological inhibition of eIF4A1 and c-MYC were performed to determine their role in migration, invasion, and metastasis in pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Results Elevated eIF4A1 expression was positively correlated with lymph node infiltration, tumor size, and indicated a poor prognosis. eIF4A1 decreased E-cadherin expression through the c-MYC/miR-9 axis. Loss of eIF4A1 and c-MYC decreased the EMT and metastasis capabilities of pancreatic cancer cells, whereas upregulation of eIF4A1 attenuated the inhibition of EMT and metastasis induced by c-MYC downregulation. Treatment with the eIF4A1 inhibitor rocaglamide (RocA) or the c-MYC inhibitor Mycro3 either alone or in combination significantly decreased the expression level of EMT markers in pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. However, the efficiency and safety of RocA alone were not inferior to those of the combination treatment in vivo. Conclusion Overexpression of eIF4A1 downregulated E-cadherin expression through the c-MYC/miR-9 axis, which promoted EMT and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells. Despite the potential feedback loop between eIF4A1 and c-MYC, RocA monotherapy is a promising treatment inhibiting eIF4A1-induced PDAC metastasis.

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METTL3 Promotes Pancreatic Tumor Progression Through Regulating the miR-196a/CPEB3 Axis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-101231/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Pingping Ge ◽

Dong Fan ◽

Lei He ◽

Qiong Wu ◽

Jin Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Tumor Progression ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Pancreatic Tumor ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

And Migration ◽

Proliferation And Migration

Abstract Background: Methyltransferase-like 3(METTL3)-mediated N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification has been reported to regulate microRNAs maturation. Here, the study was designed to investigate the regulatory effect of m6A-dependent miRNA maturation on pancreatic cancer progression which is still limited before.Results: We found that METTL3 significantly upregulated in the pancreatic tumor tissues. Overexpression of METTL3 promoted cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro and tumor progression in vivo. METTL3-mediated m6A modification facilitated miR-196a maturation in pancreatic cancer cells, and miR-196a increased the proliferation and migration of cancer cells in vitro. Luciferase reporter assay verified that cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 3 (CPEB3) was a direct target gene of miR-196a. In vivo studies proved that overexpression of miR-196a inhibited the anti-tumor effect of knockdown of METTL3, and overexpression of CPEB3 inhibited the miR-196a-enhanced tumor progression. Conclusions: We identified that METTL3 was upregulated in pancreatic cancer, leading to the upregulation of miR-196a, resulting in the downregulation of CPEB3, which promoted the pancreatic tumor progression. We first demonstrated that CPEB3 was a tumor suppressor gene in pancreatic cancer, and the METTL3 regulated miR-196a/CPEB3 axis may be a therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer therapy.

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ELK1 Enhances Pancreatic Cancer Progression Via LGMN and Correlates with Poor Prognosis

Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences ◽

10.3389/fmolb.2021.764900 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Qiang Yan ◽

Chenming Ni ◽

Yingying Lin ◽

Xu Sun ◽

Zhenhua Shen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Poor Prognosis ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Clinical Stage ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

Degree Of Differentiation

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers and its prognosis is extremely poor. Clarification of molecular mechanisms and identification of prognostic biomarkers are urgently needed. Though we previously found that LGMN was involved in pancreatic carcinoma progression, the upstream regulation of LGMN remains unknown. We used reliable software to search for the potential transcription factors that may be related with LGMN transcription, we found that ELK1 could be a new regulator of LGMN transcription that binded directly to the LGMN promoter. Moreover, knocking down of ELK1 reduced pancreatic cancer cells proliferation, invasion and survival, while LGMN restored the malignancy of pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of ELK1 further increased cancer cells proliferation, invasion and survival. Clinically, ELK1 and LGMN were positively correlated with clinical stage, degree of differentiation and Lymph node infiltration. ELK1 and LGMN were identified as independent prognostic factors for overall survival. The patients with low expression of ELK1/LGMN survived an average of 29.65 months, whereas those with high expression of ELK1/LGMN survived an average of 16.67 months. In conclusive, our results revealed a new mechanism by which ELK1 promoted the progression of pancreatic cancer via LGMN and conferred poor prognosis.

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STAT1-mediated inhibition of FOXM1 enhances gemcitabine sensitivity in pancreatic cancer

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs20180816 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 133 (5) ◽

pp. 645-663 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Chao Liu ◽

Jiaqi Shi ◽

Qingwei Li ◽

Zhiwei Li ◽

Changjie Lou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽

Human Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

Foxm1 Expression

Abstract Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) was identified as an oncogenic transcription factor and master regulator of tumor progression and metastasis. FOXM1 expression often correlates with poor prognosis and chemotherapy resistance. In the present study, we investigated the association of FOXM1 expression and chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. Elevated FOXM1 protein levels were associated with gemcitabine chemoresistance in patients with pancreatic cancer. In gemcitabine resistance cell line models of pancreatic cancer, FOXM1 expression increased, which induced gemcitabine chemoresistance in vitro. In pancreatic cancer cells treated with gemcitabine, FOXM1 affected nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling activity. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a negative association of FOXM1 expression and the level of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (pSTAT1) in human pancreatic cancer tissues. Dual-luciferase reporter assays and chromatin-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that pSTAT1 directly binds to the FOXM1 promoter to down-regulate its transcription. Interferon γ (IFNγ) promoted gemcitabine-induced cell apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo by FOXM1 inhibition. These data suggested that FOXM1 enhances chemoresistance to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer. IFNγ could be used to down-regulate the expression of FOXM1 through STAT1 phosphorylation, thereby increasing the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine. These studies suggested the sensitization by IFNγ in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) chemotherapy, which requires further clinical studies.

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HGF/MET Axis Induces Tumor Secretion of Tenascin-C and Promotes Stromal Rewiring in Pancreatic Cancer

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13143519 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 3519

Author(s):

Chiara Modica ◽

Martina Olivero ◽

Francesca Zuppini ◽

Melissa Milan ◽

Cristina Basilico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Stellate Cells ◽

Pancreatic Stellate Cells ◽

Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Stromal Compartment ◽

Tenascin C ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an aggressive tumor characterized by the presence of an abundant stromal compartment contributing significantly to the malignant phenotype. Pancreatic stellate cells are peculiar fibroblasts present in the stroma and represent the predominant source of extracellular matrix proteins, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and growth factors, including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Exploiting a co-culture system of human pancreatic stellate cells and cancer cells, we demonstrated that fibroblast activation was reduced upon HGF/MET axis inhibition. To unveil the signaling pathways sustaining stroma modulation orchestrated by MET activation in the tumor, we analyzed the gene expression profile in pancreatic cancer cells stimulated with HGF and treated with HGF/MET inhibitors. Transcriptome analysis showed that, among all the genes modulated by HGF, a subset of 125 genes was restored to the basal level following treatment with the inhibitors. By examining these genes via ingenuity pathway analysis, tenascin C emerged as a promising candidate linking MET signaling and tumor microenvironment. MET-dependent tenascin C modulation in pancreatic cancer cells was validated at RNA and protein levels both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, this work identifies tenascin C as a gene modulated by MET activation, suggesting a role in MET-mediated tumor-stroma interplay occurring during pancreatic tumor progression.

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In Vitro and In Vivo Antitumor Efficacy of Docetaxel and Sorafenib Combination in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Current Cancer Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1568210204916170096 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 999 (999) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

P. Ulivi ◽

C. Arienti ◽

W. Zoli ◽

M. Scarsella ◽

S. Carloni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Antitumor Efficacy ◽

Human Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells

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Mesothelin blockage by Amatuximab suppresses cell invasiveness, enhances gemcitabine sensitivity and regulates cancer cell stemness in mesothelin-positive pancreatic cancer cells

BMC Cancer ◽

10.1186/s12885-020-07722-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fumihiko Matsuzawa ◽

Hirofumi Kamachi ◽

Tatsuzo Mizukami ◽

Takahiro Einama ◽

Futoshi Kawamata ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Mouse Model ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

Cell Invasiveness ◽

And Migration ◽

Migration Capacity

Abstract Background Mesothelin is a 40-kDa glycoprotein that is highly overexpressed in various types of cancers, however molecular mechanism of mesothelin has not been well-known. Amatuximab is a chimeric monoclonal IgG1/k antibody targeting mesothelin. We recently demonstrated that the combine therapy of Amatuximab and gemcitabine was effective for peritonitis of pancreatic cancer in mouse model. Methods We discover the role and potential mechanism of mesothelin blockage by Amatuximab in human pancreatic cells both expressing high or low level of mesothelin in vitro experiment and peritonitis mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Results Mesothelin blockage by Amatuximab lead to suppression of invasiveness and migration capacity in AsPC-1 and Capan-2 (high mesothelin expression) and reduce levels of pMET expression. The combination of Amatuximab and gemcitabine suppressed proliferation of AsPC-1 and Capan-2 more strongly than gemcitabine alone. These phenomena were not observed in Panc-1 and MIA Paca-2 (Mesothelin low expression). We previously demonstrated that Amatuximab reduced the peritoneal mass in mouse AsPC-1 peritonitis model and induced sherbet-like cancer cell aggregates, which were vanished by gemcitabine. In this study, we showed that the cancer stem cell related molecule such as ALDH1, CD44, c-MET, as well as proliferation related molecules, were suppressed in sherbet-like aggregates, but once sherbet-like aggregates attached to peritoneum, they expressed these molecules strongly without the morphological changes. Conclusions Our work suggested that Amatuximab inhibits the adhesion of cancer cells to peritoneum and suppresses the stemness and viability of those, that lead to enhance the sensitivity for gemcitabine.

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Cyathus striatus Extract Induces Apoptosis in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells and Inhibits Xenograft Tumor Growth In Vivo

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13092017 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 2017

Author(s):

Lital Sharvit ◽

Rinat Bar-Shalom ◽

Naiel Azzam ◽

Yaniv Yechiel ◽

Solomon Wasser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cell Line ◽

Cancer Cell Line ◽

Culture Liquid ◽

Human Pancreatic Cancer ◽

P53 Signaling ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with limited options for effective therapy and the lowest survival rate of all cancer forms. Therefore, a new, effective strategy for cancer treatment is in need. Previously, we found that a culture liquid extract of Cyathus striatus (CS) has a potent antitumor activity. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Cyathus striatus extract (CSE) on the growth of pancreatic cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo. The proliferation assay (XTT), cell cycle analysis, Annexin/PI staining and TUNEL assay confirmed the inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis by CSE. A Western blot analysis demonstrated the involvement of both the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways. In addition, a RNAseq analysis revealed the involvement of the MAPK and P53 signaling pathways and pointed toward endoplasmic reticulum stress induced apoptosis. The anticancer activity of the CSE was also demonstrated in mice harboring pancreatic cancer cell line-derived tumor xenografts when CSE was given for 5 weeks by weekly IV injections. Our findings suggest that CSE could potentially be useful as a new strategy for treating pancreatic cancer.

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Hyperglycemia Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Initiation and Progression by Activating the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1871520621666210201095613 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

Author(s):

Huiming Chen ◽

Junfeng Zhao ◽

Ningning Jiang ◽

Zheng Wang ◽

Chang Liu

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Precancerous Lesions ◽

Clinical Specimen ◽

Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

Cancer Initiation

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal diseases, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10% because of the limited knowledge of tumor-promoting factors and their underlying mechanism. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperglycemia are risk factors for many cancers, including PDAC, that modulate multiple downstream signaling pathways, such as the wingless/integrated (Wnt)/β-catenin signaling pathway. However, whether hyperglycemia promotes PDAC initiation and progression by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway remains unclear. Methods: In this study, we used bioinformatics analysis and clinical specimen analysis to evaluate the activation states of the Wnt/βcatenin signaling pathway. In addition, colony formation assays, Transwell assays and wound-healing assays were used to evaluate the malignant biological behaviors of pancreatic cancer cells (PCs) under hyperglycemic conditions. To describe the effects of hyperglycemia and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on the initiation of PDAC, we used pancreatitis-driven pancreatic cancer initiation models in vivo and pancreatic acinar cell 3-dimensional culture in vitro. Results: Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related molecules were overexpressed in PDAC tissues/cells and correlated with poor prognosis in PDAC patients. In addition, hyperglycemia exacerbated the abnormal activation of β-catenin in PDAC and enhanced the malignant biological behaviors of PCs in a Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-dependent manner. Indeed, hyperglycemia accelerated the formation of pancreatic precancerous lesions by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion: Hyperglycemia promotes pancreatic cancer initiation and progression by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

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