scholarly journals Targetting an LncRNA P5848-ENO1 axis inhibits tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xidan Zhu ◽  
Hui Yu ◽  
Baolin Li ◽  
Jing Quan ◽  
Zhangrui Zeng ◽  
...  

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high recurrence rate and poor clinical outcome after currently used therapies, including radiofrequency ablation. To explore the possible mechanisms for the relapse of HCC, in the present study we focussed on long non-coding RNA (LncRNA), which has been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis. We identified an LncRNA P5848, whose expression level was up-regulated in tumor samples from HCC patients after radiofrequency ablation. As such, we speculated that LncRNA P5848 may play a role in tumor growth. Here we showed that LncRNA P5848, whose up-regulation can lead to HCC cancer cell proliferation and migration. In vitro and in vivo overexpression of LncRNA P5848 promoted cell growth, cell survival, and cell invasion, whereas LncRNA P5848 depletion exerts opposite effects. Mechanistically, we have found that ENO1 was the target of LncRNA P5848. LncRNA P5848 up-regulated the gene and protein expression level of ENO1, promoting tumor growth and cell survival. However, siRNA-mediated knockdown of ENO1 counteracted the effects of LncRNA P5848 on cancer cell growth, cell survival, and migration. Taken together, LncRNA P5848 promotes HCC development by up-regulating ENO1, indicating that LncRNA P5848-ENO1 axis is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment 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 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153303382110330
Author(s):  
Zhenzhao Luo ◽  
Yue Fan ◽  
Xianchang Liu ◽  
Shuiyi Liu ◽  
Xiaoyu Kong ◽  
...  

Background: Previous studies reported that N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) was upregulated in various cancer tissues and decreased expression of miR-188-3p and miR-133b could suppress cell proliferation, metastasis, and invasion and induce apoptosis of cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanism of NRDG1 involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis is still unknown. Methods: The expressions of miR-188-3p, miR-133b, and NRDG1 in HCC tissues and cells were quantified by qRT-PCR and Western blot. MTT assay and transwell invasion assay were performed to evaluate cell growth and cell migration, respectively. Luciferase reporter assay were performed to determine whether miR-188-3p and miR-133b could directly bind to NRDG1 in HCC cells. Results: The results showed that NRDG1 was upregulated and these 2 microRNAs were downregulated in HCC tissues. NRDG1 was negatively correlated with miR-188-3p and miR-133b in HCC tissues. MiR-188-3p and miR-133b were demonstrated to directly bind to 3′UTR of NRDG1 and inhibit its expression. Upregulation of miR-188-3p and miR-133b reduced NRDG1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, which consequently inhibited cell growth and cell migration. Conclusions: Our finding suggested that miR-188-3p and miR-133b exert a suppressive effect on hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation, invasion, and migration through downregulation of NDRG1.


Oncogenesis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Geon Lee ◽  
Hui Won Kim ◽  
Yeji Nam ◽  
Kyeong Jin Shin ◽  
Yu Jin Lee ◽  
...  

AbstractMitochondrial proteases are key components in mitochondrial stress responses that maintain proteostasis and mitochondrial integrity in harsh environmental conditions, which leads to the acquisition of aggressive phenotypes, including chemoresistance and metastasis. However, the molecular mechanisms and exact role of mitochondrial proteases in cancer remain largely unexplored. Here, we identified functional crosstalk between LONP1 and ClpP, which are two mitochondrial matrix proteases that cooperate to attenuate proteotoxic stress and protect mitochondrial functions for cancer cell survival. LONP1 and ClpP genes closely localized on chromosome 19 and were co-expressed at high levels in most human cancers. Depletion of both genes synergistically attenuated cancer cell growth and induced cell death due to impaired mitochondrial functions and increased oxidative stress. Using mitochondrial matrix proteomic analysis with an engineered peroxidase (APEX)-mediated proximity biotinylation method, we identified the specific target substrates of these proteases, which were crucial components of mitochondrial functions, including oxidative phosphorylation, the TCA cycle, and amino acid and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, we found that LONP1 and ClpP shared many substrates, including serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2 (SHMT2). Inhibition of both LONP1 and ClpP additively increased the amount of unfolded SHMT2 protein and enhanced sensitivity to SHMT2 inhibitor, resulting in significantly reduced cell growth and increased cell death under metabolic stress. Additionally, prostate cancer patients with higher LONP1 and ClpP expression exhibited poorer survival. These results suggest that interventions targeting the mitochondrial proteostasis network via LONP1 and ClpP could be potential therapeutic strategies for cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Chen ◽  
Shang Cai ◽  
Jing-mei Wang ◽  
Ying-ying Huai ◽  
Pei-Hua Lu ◽  
...  

AbstractBromodomain testis-specific factor (BRDT) is a member of the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family proteins. Its expression and potential functions in ovarian cancer were examined. We show that BRDT is overexpressed in human ovarian cancer tissues and in established (CaOV3)/primary ovarian cancer cells. However, its expression is low in ovarian epithelial tissues and cells. Significantly, shRNA-induced silencing or CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of BRDT inhibited ovarian cancer cell growth, viability, proliferation and migration, and induced significant apoptosis activation. Conversely, exogenous overexpression of BRDT, by a lentiviral construct, augmented CaOV3 cell proliferation and migration. In CaOV3 cells expression of two key BRDT target genes, polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and aurora kinase C (AURKC), was downregulated by BRDT shRNA or knockout, but upregulated with BRDT overexpression. In vivo, xenograft tumors-derived from BRDT-knockout CaOV3 cells grew significantly slower than control tumors in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Furthermore, intratumoral injection of BRDT shRNA lentivirus potently inhibited the growth of primary ovarian cancer xenografts in SCID mice. Downregulation of PLK1 and AURKC was detected in BRDT-knockout and BRDT-silenced tumor tissues. Collectively, BRDT overexpression promotes ovarian cancer cell progression. Targeting BRDT could be a novel strategy to treat ovarian cancer.


Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 367
Author(s):  
Peng Zhang ◽  
Yujie Yan ◽  
Junting Wang ◽  
Xiaoping Dong ◽  
Gaihua Zhang ◽  
...  

Spider venom has been found to show its anticancer activity in a variety of human malignancies, including lung cancer. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer peptide toxin LVTX-8, with linear amphipathic alpha-helical conformation, designed and synthesized from the cDNA library of spider Lycosa vittata. Multiple cellular methods, such as CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, colony formation assay, Transwell invasion and migration assay, were performed to detect peptide-induced cell growth inhibition and anti-metastasis in lung cancer cells. Our results demonstrated that LVTX-8 displayed strong cytotoxicity and anti-metastasis towards lung cancer in vitro. Furthermore, LVTX-8 could suppress the growth and metastasis of lung cancer cells (A549 and H460) in nude mouse models. Transcriptomics, integrated with multiple bioinformatics analysis, suggested that the molecular basis of the LVTX-8-mediated inhibition of cancer cell growth and metastasis manifested in two aspects: Firstly, it could restrain the activity of cancer cell division and migration through the functional pathways, including “p53 hypoxia pathway” and “integrin signaling”. Secondly, it could regulate the expression level of apoptotic-related proteins, which may account for programmed apoptosis of cancer cells. Taken together, as an anticancer peptide with high efficiency and acceptable specificity, LVTX-8 may become a potential precursor of a therapeutic agent for lung cancer in the future.


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