scholarly journals Loss of the Krüppel-like factor 4 tumor suppressor is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition in colorectal cancer

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley C. Agbo ◽  
Jessie Z. Huang ◽  
Amr M. Ghaleb ◽  
Jennie L. Williams ◽  
Kenneth R. Shroyer ◽  
...  

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cancer-related cause of death due to its propensity to metastasize. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a multistep process important for invasion and metastasis of CRC. Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a zinc finger transcription factor highly expressed in differentiated cells of the intestinal epithelium. KLF4 has been shown to play a tumor suppressor role during CRC tumorigenesis - its loss accelerates development and progression of cancer. The present study examines the relationship between KLF4 and markers of EMT in CRC.MethodsImmunofluorescence staining for KLF4 and EMT markers was performed on archived patient samples after colorectal cancer resection and on colonic tissues of mice with colitis-associated cancer.ResultsWe found that KLF4 expression is lost in tumor sections obtained from CRC patients and in those of mouse colon following azoxymethane and dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS) treatment when compared to their respective normal appearing mucosa. Importantly, in CRC patient tumor sections we observed a negative correlation between KLF4 levels and mesenchymal markers including TWIST, β-catenin, claudin-1, N-cadherin, and vimentin. Similarly, in tumor tissues from AOM/DSS-treated mice KLF4 levels were negatively correlated with mesenchymal markers including SNAI2, β-catenin, and vimentin and positively correlated with the epithelial marker E-cadherin.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the loss of KLF4 expression is a potentially significant indicator of EMT in CRC.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Christoph Franke ◽  
Johannes Müller ◽  
Miguel Abal ◽  
Eduardo Domínguez Medina ◽  
Ulrich Nitsche ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (06) ◽  
pp. 1309-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yo-Han Han ◽  
Ji-Ye Kee ◽  
Dae-Seung Kim ◽  
Jeong-Geon Mun ◽  
Seong-Hwan Park ◽  
...  

Although Arctii Fructus (AF) has been shown to have various pharmacological effects, there have been no studies concerning the inhibitory effects of AF on the metastatic properties of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to investigate whether AF could suppress CRC progression by inhibiting cell growth, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, and the invasion ability of CRC cells. AF decreased proliferation of CRC cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Regarding metastatic properties, AF inhibited EMT by increasing the expression of the epithelial marker, E-cadherin, and decreasing the expression of the mesenchymal marker, N-cadherin, in CT26 cells. Moreover, AF decreased the migration and invasion of CT26 cells by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 activity. We confirmed that the decreased invasion ability and MMP-9 activity by AF treatment involved AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Collectively, this study demonstrates that AF inhibits the proliferation and metastatic properties of CRC cells.


Author(s):  
Jing Xiao ◽  
Guang Li ◽  
Jingyu Zhou ◽  
Shalong Wang ◽  
Dongcai Liu ◽  
...  

MicroRNAs (miRs), a class of small noncoding RNAs, are important regulators for gene expression through directly binding to the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of their target mRNA. Recently, downregulation of miR-520b has been observed in several common human cancers. However, the exact role of miR-520b in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not previously been studied. In this study, our data showed that miR-520b was significantly downregulated in CRC and cell lines when compared with adjacent normal tissues and a normal intestinal epithelial cell line. Low expression of miR-520b was notably associated with the malignant progress and a shorter survival time for CRC patients. Restoration of miR-520b inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) in CRC cells. Defective in cullin neddylation 1 domain containing 1 (DCUN1D1) was then identified as a novel target gene of miR-520b in CRC cells. The expression of DCUN1D1 was significantly increased in CRC, with a negative correlation to miR-520b expression in CRC tissues. Moreover, a high expression of DCUN1D1 was significantly associated with the malignant progress and a poor prognosis for CRC patients. Furthermore, overexpression of DCUN1D1 rescued the miR-520b-mediated malignant phenotypes and EMT in CRC cells. The data demonstrate that miR-520b functions as a tumor suppressor in CRC through targeting DCUN1D1, suggesting that miR-520b may become a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengdi Yang ◽  
Qianru Huang ◽  
Changcan Li ◽  
Zhiyuan Jiang ◽  
Jing Sun ◽  
...  

The treatment and prognosis of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) remain a challenging clinical research focus. Here, we describe a new CRC tumor suppressor and potential therapeutic target: thymocyte selection associated high mobility group box (TOX) protein. The expression of TOX was lower in CRC than para-CRC. With the increase of tumor stage, TOX expression decreased, indicating the presence of TOX relates to better overall survival (OS). TOX suppressed the mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase (mTOR) signaling to inhibit cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and change the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. In addition, TOX promoted apoptosis. As tumor mutation burden and tumor microenvironment play vital roles in the occurrence and development of tumors, we analyzed the TOX expression in the immune microenvironment of CRC. The high TOX expression was negatively correlated with TumorPurity. Moreover, it was positively related to ImmuneScore, StromalScore, microsatellite instability (MSI) status, and Consensus Molecular Subtypes (CMS) 3 typing. Based on gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), the reduced expression of TOX activated mTOR. We found rapamycin, a mTOR inhibitor, partly inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in shTOX HCT116 cells. Lastly, TOX suppressed tumorigenesis and lung metastasis of CRC in vivo. Rapamycin alone or combined with PD1 inhibitor is more effective than PD1 inhibitor alone in a tumor model. Taken together, these findings highlight the tumor-suppressive role of TOX in CRC, especially in MSI CRC, and provide valuable information that rapamycin alone or combined with PD1 inhibitor has therapeutic potential in CRC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (39) ◽  
pp. 4605-4610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atena Soleimani ◽  
Farzad Rahmani ◽  
Gordon A. Ferns ◽  
Mikhail Ryzhikov ◽  
Amir Avan ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and its incidence is increasing. In most patients with CRC, the PI3K/AKT signaling axis is over-activated. Regulatory oncogenic or tumor suppressor microRNAs (miRNAs) for PI3K/AKT signaling regulate cell proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, as well as resistance to chemo-/radio-therapy in colorectal cancer tumor tissues. Thus, regulatory miRNAs of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling represent novel biomarkers for new patient diagnosis and obtaining clinically invaluable information from post-treatment CRC patients for improving therapeutic strategies. This review summarizes the current knowledge of miRNAs’ regulatory roles of PI3K/AKT signaling in CRC pathogenesis.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 558
Author(s):  
Jin Kyung Seok ◽  
Eun-Hee Hong ◽  
Gabsik Yang ◽  
Hye Eun Lee ◽  
Sin-Eun Kim ◽  
...  

Oxidized phospholipids are well known to play physiological and pathological roles in regulating cellular homeostasis and disease progression. However, their role in cancer metastasis has not been entirely understood. In this study, effects of oxidized phosphatidylcholines such as 1-palmitoyl-2-(5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POVPC) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy were determined in cancer cells by immunoblotting and confocal analysis. Metastasis was analyzed by a scratch wound assay and a transwell migration/invasion assay. The concentrations of POVPC and 1-palmitoyl-2-glutaroyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine (PGPC) in tumor tissues obtained from patients were measured by LC-MS/MS analysis. POVPC induced EMT, resulting in increase of migration and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) and human breast cancer cells (MCF7). POVPC induced autophagic flux through AMPK-mTOR pathway. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA knockdown of autophagy decreased migration and invasion of POVPC-treated HepG2 and MCF7 cells. POVPC and PGPC levels were greatly increased at stage II of patient-derived intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tissues. PGPC levels were higher in malignant breast tumor tissues than in adjacent nontumor tissues. The results show that oxidized phosphatidylcholines increase metastatic potential of cancer cells by promoting EMT, mediated through autophagy. These suggest the positive regulatory role of oxidized phospholipids accumulated in tumor microenvironment in the regulation of tumorigenesis and metastasis.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Paula I. Escalante ◽  
Luis A. Quiñones ◽  
Héctor R. Contreras

The FOLFOX scheme, based on the association of 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, is the most frequently indicated chemotherapy scheme for patients diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, development of chemoresistance is one of the major challenges associated with this disease. It has been reported that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is implicated in microRNA-driven modulation of tumor cells response to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Moreover, from pharmacogenomic research, it is known that overexpression of genes encoding dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD), thymidylate synthase (TYMS), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), the DNA repair enzymes ERCC1, ERCC2, and XRCC1, and the phase 2 enzyme GSTP1 impair the response to FOLFOX. It has been observed that EMT is associated with overexpression of DPYD, TYMS, ERCC1, and GSTP1. In this review, we investigated the role of miRNAs as EMT promotors in tumor cells, and its potential effect on the upregulation of DPYD, TYMS, MTHFR, ERCC1, ERCC2, XRCC1, and GSTP1 expression, which would lead to resistance of CRC tumor cells to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. This constitutes a potential mechanism of epigenetic regulation involved in late-onset of acquired resistance in mCRC patients under FOLFOX chemotherapy. Expression of these biomarker microRNAs could serve as tools for personalized medicine, and as potential therapeutic targets in the future.


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