scholarly journals A potent CBP/p300-Snail interaction inhibitor suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in wild-type p53-expressing cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (17) ◽  
pp. eaaw8500
Author(s):  
Hong-Mei Li ◽  
Yan-Ran Bi ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Rong Fu ◽  
Wen-Cong Lv ◽  
...  

The zinc finger transcription factor Snail is aberrantly activated in many human cancers and associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, targeting Snail is expected to exert therapeutic benefit in patients with cancer. However, Snail has traditionally been considered “undruggable,” and no effective pharmacological inhibitors have been identified. Here, we found a small-molecule compound CYD19 that forms a high-affinity interaction with the evolutionarily conserved arginine-174 pocket of Snail protein. In aggressive cancer cells, CYD19 binds to Snail and thus disrupts Snail’s interaction with CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300, which consequently impairs CBP/p300-mediated Snail acetylation and then promotes its degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Moreover, CYD19 restores Snail-dependent repression of wild-type p53, thus reducing tumor growth and survival in vitro and in vivo. In addition, CYD19 reverses Snail-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and impairs EMT-associated tumor invasion and metastasis. Our findings demonstrate that pharmacologically targeting Snail by CYD19 may exert potent therapeutic effects in patients with cancer.

2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuehua Chen ◽  
Yongquan Huang ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Ziman Chen ◽  
Jiaxin Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Insufficient radiofrequency ablation (IRFA) can promote the local recurrence and distal metastasis of residual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which makes clinical treatment extremely challenging. In this study, the malignant transition of residual tumors after IRFA was explored. Then, arsenic-loaded zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 nanoparticles (As@ZIF-8 NPs) were constructed, and their therapeutic effect on residual tumors was studied. Results Our data showed that IRFA can dramatically promote the proliferation, induce the metastasis, activate the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and accelerate the angiogenesis of residual tumors. Interestingly, we found, for the first time, that extensive angiogenesis after IRFA can augment the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and enhance the enrichment of ZIF-8 nanocarriers in residual tumors. Encouraged by this unique finding, we successfully prepared As@ZIF-8 NPs with good biocompatibility and confirmed that they were more effective than free arsenic trioxide (ATO) in sublethal heat-induced cell proliferation suppression, apoptosis induction, cell migration and invasion inhibition, and EMT reversal in vitro. Furthermore, compared with free ATO, As@ZIF-8 NPs exhibited remarkably increased therapeutic effects by repressing residual tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Conclusions This work provides a new paradigm for the treatment of residual HCC after IRFA. Graphical Abstract


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1676
Author(s):  
Monserrat Olea-Flores ◽  
Juan C. Juárez-Cruz ◽  
Miriam D. Zuñiga-Eulogio ◽  
Erika Acosta ◽  
Eduardo García-Rodríguez ◽  
...  

Leptin is a hormone secreted mainly by adipocytes; physiologically, it participates in the control of appetite and energy expenditure. However, it has also been linked to tumor progression in different epithelial cancers. In this review, we describe the effect of leptin on epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in different study models, including in vitro, in vivo, and patient studies and in various types of cancer, including breast, prostate, lung, and ovarian cancer. The different studies report that leptin promotes the expression of mesenchymal markers and a decrease in epithelial markers, in addition to promoting EMT-related processes such as cell migration and invasion and poor prognosis in patients with cancer. Finally, we report that leptin has the greatest biological relevance in EMT and tumor progression in breast, lung, prostate, esophageal, and ovarian cancer. This relationship could be due to the key role played by the enriched tumor microenvironment in adipose tissue. Together, these findings demonstrate that leptin is a key biomolecule that drives EMT and metastasis in cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur-Quan Tran ◽  
Stephanie A. Sullivan ◽  
Leo Li-Ying Chan ◽  
Yajie Yin ◽  
Wenchuan Sun ◽  
...  

SPR965 is an inhibitor of PI3K and mTOR C1/C2 and has demonstrated anti-tumorigenic activity in a variety of solid tumors. We sought to determine the effects of SPR965 on cell proliferation and tumor growth in human serous ovarian cancer cell lines and a transgenic mouse model of high grade serous ovarian cancer (KpB model) and identify the underlying mechanisms by which SPR965 inhibits cell and tumor growth. SPR965 showed marked anti-proliferative activity by causing cell cycle arrest and inducing cellular stress in ovarian cancer cells. Treatment with SPR965 significantly inhibited tumor growth in KpB mice, accompanied by downregulation of Ki67 and VEGF and upregulation of Bip expression in ovarian tumors. SPR965 also inhibited adhesion and invasion through induction of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition process. As expected, downregulation of phosphorylation of AKT and S6 was observed in SPR965-treated ovarian cancer cells and tumors. Our results suggest that SPR965 has significant anti-tumorigenic effects in serous ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo. Thus, SPR965 should be evaluated as a promising targeted agent in future clinical trials of ovarian cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuehua Chen ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Ziman Chen ◽  
Jiaxin Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundInsufficient radiofrequency ablation (IRFA) can promote the local recurrence and distal metastasis of residual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which makes clinical treatment extremely challenging. In this study, the malignant transition of residual tumors after IRFA was explored. Then, arsenic-loaded zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 nanoparticles (As@ZIF-8 NPs) were constructed, and their therapeutic effect on residual tumors was studied. ResultsOur data showed that IRFA can dramatically promote the proliferation, induce the metastasis, activate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and accelerate the angiogenesis of residual tumors. Interestingly, we found, for the first time, that extensive angiogenesis after IRFA can augment the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and enhance the enrichment of ZIF-8 nanocarriers in residual tumors. Encouraged by this unique finding, we successfully prepared As@ZIF-8 NPs with good biocompatibility and confirmed that they were more effective than free arsenic trioxide (ATO) in sublethal heat-induced cell proliferation suppression, apoptosis induction, cell migration and invasion inhibition, and EMT reversal in vitro. Furthermore, compared with free ATO, As@ZIF-8 NPs exhibited remarkably increased therapeutic effects by repressing residual tumor growth and metastasis in vivo.ConclusionsThis work provides a new paradigm for the treatment of residual HCC after IRFA.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 5875
Author(s):  
Patrice Cagle ◽  
Nikia Smith ◽  
Timothy O. Adekoya ◽  
Yahui Li ◽  
Susy Kim ◽  
...  

Abnormal expression of microRNA miR-214-3p (miR-214) is associated with multiple cancers. In this study, we assessed the effects of CRISPR/Cas9 mediated miR-214 depletion in prostate cancer (PCa) cells and the underlying mechanisms. Knockdown of miR-214 promoted PCa cell proliferation, invasion, migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and increased resistance to anoikis, a key feature of PCa cells that undergo metastasis. The reintroduction of miR-214 in miR-214 knockdown cells reversed these effects and significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. These in vitro studies are consistent with the role of miR-214 as a tumor suppressor. Moreover, miR-214 knockout increased tumor growth in PCa xenografts in nude mice supporting its anti-oncogenic role in PCa. Knockdown of miR-214 increased the expression of its target protein, Protein Tyrosine Kinase 6 (PTK6), a kinase shown to promote oncogenic signaling and tumorigenesis in PCa. In addition, miR-214 modulated EMT as exhibited by differential regulation of E-Cadherin, N-Cadherin, and Vimentin both in vitro and in vivo. RNA-seq analysis of miR-214 knockdown cells revealed altered gene expression related to PCa tumor growth pathways, including EMT and metastasis. Collectively, our findings reveal that miR-214 is a key regulator of PCa oncogenesis and is a potential novel therapeutic target for the treatment of the disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-ming Hou ◽  
Shu-qiao Yuan ◽  
Da Zhao ◽  
Xiao-jun Liu ◽  
Xin-an Wu

Abstract Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A) is a key enzyme during glycolysis, which increases the synthesis of related proteins and has elevated activity in cancer cells. The role of LDH-A in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) progression was investigated in the present study. Expression levels of LDH-A were assessed in LUAD samples, and the relationship between LDH-A expression status and the prognosis of LUAD patients was confirmed. The effect of LDH-A on proliferation, invasion, migration, and colony formation of cancer cells was assessed. We further determined the role of LDH-A in tumor growth in vivo by using xenograft LUAD tumor models. The potential mechanism of LDH-A promotion in LUAD progression was explored. LDH-A showed an abnormally high expression in LUAD, which is closely associated with poor prognosis in patients with LUAD. In in vitro experiments, silencing LDH-A expression in LUAD cells could effectively inhibit proliferation, invasion, migration, and colony formation of cancer cells. In in vivo experiments, tumor growth was markedly inhibited by LDH-A silencing in a xenograft model of LUAD. Notably, LDH-A could also promote tumor progression by regulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related molecules. LDH-A can promote the malignant biological behaviors of LUAD cells, and thus can be a potential target for LUAD treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Dai ◽  
Guanghua Zhou ◽  
Zhiqiang Hu ◽  
Guangtong Zhu ◽  
Beibei Mao ◽  
...  

AbstractEpithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a pivotal role in cancer progression. Hsa-miR-205 is considered one of the fundamental regulators of EMT. In the present study, we found that miR-205 was down-regulated in glioma tissues and human glioma cells U87 and U251. Meanwhile, miR-205 overexpression enhanced E-cadherin, reduced mesenchymal markers, and decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. In vivo, miR-205 suppressed tumor growth. Additionally, HOXD9 was confirmed as a direct target of miR-205. Suppression of HOXD9 by miR-205 was demonstrated by luciferase reporter assay, quantitative real time-PCR analysis, and western blot. Moreover, we observed a negative correlation between miR-205 and HOXD9 in human glioma tissues. In summary, our findings demonstrated that miR-205 suppresses glioma tumor growth, invasion, and reverses EMT through down-regulating its target HOXD9.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen-Nan Li ◽  
Cheng Lu ◽  
Feng-Liang Wang ◽  
Hao-Wei Guo ◽  
Zhi-Peng Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Insufficient thermal ablation can cause accelerated malignant behaviors and increased metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy are implicated in tumor metastasis. However, whether interactions between autophagy and TGF-β2 induce EMT in breast cancer (BC) after insufficient microwave ablation (MWA) remains unclear. Methods In this study, we treated BC cells with sublethal heat treatment for simulating insufficient MWA, and then the effect of heat treatment on the BC cell phenotypes were explored. CCK-8, colony formation, flow cytometry, transwell and wound healing assays were performed to evaluate the influence of sublethal heat treatment on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration of BC cells treated with/without autophagy inhibitors. Western blotting, real-time quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy were carried out to determine the changes of markers associated with autophagy and EMT after sublethal heat treatment. Xenograft models in mice were established by using sublethal heat treated BC cells to investigate the effect of autophagy inhibitor on BC tumor growth in vivo. Results Results showed that heat treatment promoted the proliferation of survived BC cells, which was accompanied by autophagy induction. Heat treatment-induced autophagy up-regulated TGF-β2/Smad2 signaling and promoted phenotype of EMT, thereby enhancing abilities of migration and invasion in BC cells. Increase or decrease of TGF-β2 expression resulted in potentiation and suppression of autophagy as well as enhancement and abatement of EMT. Autophagy inhibitor facilitated apoptosis and repressed proliferation of BC cells in vitro, and thwarted BC cell tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis in vivo. Conclusions This study indicate that heat treatment-induced autophagy promotes invasion and metastasis via TGF-β2/Smad2-mediated EMT. Suppressing autophagy might be a new strategy for overcoming sufficient MWA caused progression and metastasis of residual BC cells.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yihang Yuan ◽  
Jue Wang ◽  
Ming Xu ◽  
Yunpeng Zhang ◽  
Zhiqiang Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract The lymph node metastasis of colorectal cancer (LMN-CRC) seriously threatens the prognosis of patients. Chemotherapy, as the most common treatment, results in severe bone marrow suppression. 20(S)-ginsenoside Rh2 (SGRh2), a major effective constituent of ginseng, has demonstrated therapeutic effects on a variety of diseases, including some tumours. SGRh2 treatment had no effect on other organs. Therefore, ginsenosides are considered a safe and effective antineoplastic drug. However, the effects of SGRh2 on LMN-CRC remain unknown. The present study investigated the potential effect of SGRh2 on LMN-CRC in vitro and in vivo. SW480 and CoLo205 cell lines were treated with SGRh2. SGRh2 dose-dependently decreased CRC cell proliferation by CCK-8, colony formation and Edu assays. The Transwell and scratch assays revealed that SGRh2 inhibits the migratory and invasive abilities of CRC cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the results of Western blotting revealed that SGRh2 decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP9. In terms of the underlying mechanisms, SGRh2 regulates CRC metastasis by affecting epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), which significantly up-regulated epithelial biomarkers (E-cadherin) and down-regulated mesenchymal biomarkers (N-cadherin and vimentin) and EMT transcriptional factors (Smad-3, Snail-1, and Twist-1). In vivo, SGRh2 significantly inhibited LMN-CRC without affecting other normal organs. Immunohistochemical results showed that SGRh2 treats LMN-CRC by regulating EMT. These results demonstrate that SGRh2 has therapeutic potential for LMN-CRC.


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