scholarly journals TDO2 Was Downregulated in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Inhibited Cell Proliferation by Upregulating the Expression of p21 and p27

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Chengpeng Yu ◽  
Dean Rao ◽  
He Zhu ◽  
Qiumeng Liu ◽  
Wenjie Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
Kynurenine Pathway ◽  
Potential Biomarker ◽  
In Vivo Flow Cytometry

Background. Tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO2) converts tryptophan into kynurenine in the initial limiting step of the kynurenine pathway. During the past decade, the overexpression of TDO2 has been found in various human tumors. However, the role of TDO2 in hepatocellular carcinoma is controversial, and we sought to clarify it in this study. Methods. Western blot analysis and immunochemistry were used to detect the expression of TDO2 in human tissue specimens. The effect of TDO2 on cell proliferation in vitro was assessed using CCK8 and colony formation assays, and a xenograft mouse model was used to detect the effect of TDO2 on tumor growth in vivo. Flow cytometry was used to assess the cell cycle status. Results. Low TDO2 expression was found in HCC and was associated with poor prognosis and adverse clinical outcomes. Conversely, TDO2 could restrain the proliferation of HCC cells in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, TDO2 upregulated the expression of p21 and p27, inducing cell-cycle arrest. Conclusions. The loss of TDO2 expression in HCC was correlated with a poor prognosis and adverse clinical outcomes. At the same time, TDO2 could restrain the growth of HCC in vivo and in vitro. The results indicate that TDO2 is a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

scholarly journals Dysregulation of miR-23b-5p promotes cell proliferation via targeting FOXM1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinchen Yang ◽  
Shikun Yang ◽  
Jinhua Song ◽  
Wenjie Yang ◽  
Yang Ji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cell Cycle Arrest ◽  
Tumor Development ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Cycle Arrest ◽  
Cell Proliferation Inhibition

AbstractGrowing evidence demonstrates that MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an essential role in contributing to tumor development and progression. However, the underlying role and mechanisms of miR-23b-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) formation remain unclear. Our study showed that miR-23b-5p was downregulated in the HCC tissues and cell lines, and lower expression of miR-23b-5p was associated with more severe tumor size and poorer survival. Gain- or loss-of-function assays demonstrated that miR-23b-5p induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibited cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. qRT-PCR, western blot and luciferase assays verified that Mammalian transcription factor Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1), upregulated in HCC specimens, was negatively correlated with miR-23b-5p expression and acted as a direct downstream target of miR-23b-5p. In addition, miR-23b-5p could regulate cyclin D1 and c-MYC expression by directly targeting FOXM1. Further study revealed that restoration of FOXM1 neutralized the cell cycle arrest and cell proliferation inhibition caused by miR-23b-5p. Taken together, our findings suggest that miR-23b-5p acted as a tumor suppressor role in HCC progression by targeting FOXM1 and may serve as a potential novel biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis.

scholarly journals circRPS16 Promotes Proliferation and Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Sponging miR-876-5p to Upregulate SPINK1

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuwen Lin ◽  
Ye Lin ◽  
Zhongshi Wu ◽  
Wuzheng Xia ◽  
Chenglong Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Downstream Target ◽  
Proliferation And Invasion

The roles of serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) in multiple types of cancers have been significantly documented. However, its specific roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain to be investigated. This study found that SPINK1 is upregulated in HCC and its upregulation correlates with poor prognosis. Besides, functional assays revealed that SPINK1 promotes cell proliferation, cell cycle, and invasion in vitro. Through bioinformatics analysis, we speculate that circRPS16 regulates SPINK1 expression by sponging miR-876-5p. This was further verified by the dual-luciferase reporter and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) assays. Subsequently, rescue assays verified that circRPS16 promotes cell proliferation, cell cycle, and invasion through miR-876-5p. Importantly, silencing circRPS16 inhibited tumor growth by downregulating SPINK1 expression in vivo. Collectively, our results confirm that SPINK1 is a downstream target of circRPS16. Besides, circRPS16 and SPINK1 are oncogenic factors in HCC progression; they provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for HCC patients.

scholarly journals Downregulation of PRAME Suppresses Proliferation and Promotes Apoptosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Through the Activation of P53 Mediated Pathway

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 1121-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanzhang Zhu ◽  
Jingrui Wang ◽  
Junjie Yin ◽  
Bei Lu ◽  
Qijun Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Therapeutic Target ◽  
Cell Apoptosis ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
P53 Pathway ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Potential Biomarker

Background/Aims: The expression of PRAME and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the functional role of PRAME in HCC development and exploring the molecular mechanism. Methods: We first detected PRAME expression in 96 human HCC tissue samples and correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of the patients. We then established stable HCC cell lines with PRAME overexpression and knockdown followed by functional analysis in vitro. Further, we examined the relationship between PRAME and p53 pathway in vitro by using Western blotting. Finally, PRAME expression was detected to evaluate its correlation with p-p53 and p53 pathway related apoptotic proteins in xenograft tumor mouse model using immunohistochemistry. Results: PRAME expression was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in adjacent non-tumor tissues and their expression was positively correlated with alpha fetoprotein levels and tumor size. In addition, PRAME expression was associated with AJCC stage and is a potential biomarker of poor prognosis regarding 5-year overall survival in HCC. In vitro studies, we found that PRAME expression was higher in HCC cell lines than in normal hepatic cell line. Inhibited cell proliferation and increased cell apoptosis was observed in PRAME knockdown HCC cells. Futher, increased cell apoptosis was correlated with the proportion of cells in G0/G1 stage, activated p53 mediated apoptosis, and increased cyclin p21 expression. Xenograft analysis in nude mice also found that PRAME knockdown inhibited tumorigenesis while PRAME overexpression had opposite effect. Conclusions: In HCC, PRAME serves as a potential biomarker for poor prognosis and novel therapeutic target in treating this cancer. PRAME is a potential biomarker of poor prognosis in HCC. PRAME surpresses HCC cell death in vitro and in vivo by regulating p53 apoptotic signaling and may serve as a potential therapeutic target in HCC.

scholarly journals KRT23 Acts as an Oncogene in Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating P21 via PI3K/AKT/GSK3β Pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Guo ◽  
Wenhui Ma ◽  
Ruhua Wang ◽  
Yarui Li ◽  
Abu Taiub mohammed Mohiuddin Chowdhury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Western Blot ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Mutual Effect ◽  
Scratch Test ◽  
Potential Biomarker ◽  
Proliferation And Metastasis

Abstract Background:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cancer worldwide for which diagnosis, treatment and progression are largely unknown. Keratin23 is a potential biomarker forHCC development; however, regulatory mechanisms underlying its expression remain unclear. Inthis research we explored the expression and effect of KRT23 underlying HCC development. Materials and methods:GEPIA was applied to analyze the expression of KRT23 in HCC samples and Kaplan-Merier survival analysis for patients’ prognosis. Next, IHC was further conducted for confirming its expression in HCC tissues. Meanwhile qRT-PCR and western blot analysis were applied to examine the expression of KRT23 on both mRNA and protein level in HCC cell lines compared with immortal hepatocyte LO2. Cell experiments including MTT assay, apoptosis analysis, cell cycle assay and clone formation assay were conducted for cell proliferation while transwell assay and scratch test for metastasis in vitro. Moreover, xenograft tumors in nude mice were further conducted for verification in vivo. As for mechanism in depth, immunofluorescence and western blot were operated to explore the effect of KRT23 on EMT and PI3K/AKT/GSK3βsignaling pathway. Furthermore, Co-immunoprecipitation was applied for interaction between KRT23 and P21. Functional rescue experiments were conducted to further testify their mutual effect.Results:For this research, we discovered the high expression of KRT23 in HCC samples and cell lines. Functionally, KRT23 knockdown reduced cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro and vivo. Furthermore, KRT23 participated in EMT progression and interacted with P21 to mediate PI3K/AKT/GSK3βpathway in HCC development.Conclusion:To summarize, KRT23 accelerated HCC proliferation and metastasis by regulating P21 via PI3K/AKT/GSK3βpathway.

scholarly journals LINC00978 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma carcinogenesis partly via activating the MAPK/ERK pathway

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Zhang ◽  
Shujie Cheng ◽  
Liye Cao ◽  
Jihong Yang ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Erk Pathway ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Cycle Progression

Abstract Objective: To study the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) LINC00978 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) carcinogenesis. Materials and methods: LINC00978 expression level was measured by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) in HCC tissues and adjacent healthy liver tissues from 49 HCC patients. MTT assay, colony forming assay, and flow cytometry were performed to evaluate the effects of shRNA-mediated LINC00978 knockdown on HCC cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis in vitro. Xenograft tumor model was performed to determine the effects of LINC00978 knockdown on HCC tumor growth in vivo. Western blot was used to assess the activation of signaling molecules in the apoptosis and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Results: LINC00978 expression was significantly up-regulated in human HCC tissue relative to adjacent normal tissue, and LINC00978 high expression was correlated with poor HCC overall survival. LINC00978 was up-regulated in HCC cell lines. ShRNA-mediated LINC00978 knockdown significantly decreased HCC cell proliferation, and induced HCC cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro. LINC00978 knockdown led to significant decrease in tumor xenograft size in vivo. Western blots revealed LINC00978 inhibition decreased ERK, p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation in HCC cells. Conclusions: LINC00978 is highly expressed in human HCC tissue and correlates with poor HCC prognosis. LINC00978 promotes HCC cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and survival, partially by activating the MAPK/ERK pathway. Our findings partially elucidated the roles of LINC00978 in HCC carcinogenesis, and identified a therapeutic target for HCC.

scholarly journals SCUBE3 downregulation modulates hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting CCNE1 via TGFβ/PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pan Xu ◽  
Aoran Luo ◽  
Chuan Xiong ◽  
Hong Ren ◽  
Liang Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Signalling Pathway ◽  
Cell Counting ◽  
Pathway Enrichment Analysis

Abstract Objectives We aimed to verify the role of signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like domain-containing protein3 (SCUBE3) in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. Methods The role of SCUBE3 in HCC cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle in vitro were detected using MTT assay, colony formation assay, 5-ethynyl-2´-deoxyuridine assay (EDU), Celigo cell counting assay, Caspase3/7 activity assay, and flow cytometry. The effect of SCUBE3 on HCC cell proliferation in vivo was inspected by a xenograft tumour model in nude mice. The related mechanisms were further studied. Results The level of SCUBE3 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of SCUBE3 inhibited proliferation, promoted apoptosis, and induced cell cycle arrest in HCC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Screening of cell cycle-related proteins revealed that CCNL2, CDK6, CCNE1, and CCND1 exhibited a significantly different expression profile. We found that SCUBE3 may promote the proliferation of HCC cells by regulating CCNE1 expression. The pathway enrichment analysis showed that the TGFβ signalling pathway and the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway were significantly altered. Co-immunoprecipitation results showed that SCUBE3 binds to the TGFβRII receptor. SCUBE3 knockdown inhibited the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway and the phosphorylation of GSK3β to inhibit its kinase activity. Conclusions SCUBE3 promotes HCC development by regulating CCNE1 via TGFβ/PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway. In addition, SCUBE3 may be a new molecular target for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

scholarly journals Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression through Modulation of SLC1A5 Expression

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonglong Pan ◽  
Mengzhen Han ◽  
Xiaochao Zhang ◽  
Yi He ◽  
Chaoyi Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Control Cell ◽  
Protein Domain ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Mtorc1 Signaling

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers with the highest mortality rate in the world. Receptor tyrosine kinases play an important role in the occurrence and development of cancer. Discoid protein domain receptors 1 (DDR1) are a special type of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase. Here, we show DDR1 is significantly increased in Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), which is related to poor prognosis of HCC patients. Methods DDR1 expression in HCC cell lines and paired HCC specimens were determined by western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). At the same time, the correlation between the DDR1 and SLC1A5 was also studied in HCC specimens. Cell proliferation ability were evaluated by CCK8 and colony formation assays. Knock-down and overexpression experiments, CHX, NH4CL and Mg132 intervention experiments, Immunoprecipitation experiments, and nude mouse xenograft models were used to determine the potential mechanism by which DDR1 promotes tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. Results In this study, we find that overexpression of DDR1 promotes the proliferation of HCC cells and accelerates the growth of tumor xenografts, while downregulation of DDR1 has the opposite effect. We also proved that loss or gain of DDR1 could affect the cell cycle progression of liver cancer cells. Mechanistically, DDR1 interacts with the SLC1A5 that belongs to the solute carrier (SLC) family of transporters and regulates its stability, thereby regulating the mTORC1 signaling pathway. In addition, we found that the regulation of SLC1A5 by DDR1 can be restored by lysosome inhibitors. Otherwise, we found that DDR1 was highly expressed in HCC and elevated DDR1 expression predicted shorter overall survival (OS) time for HCC patients. We further revealed that the expression of SLC1A5 was positively correlated with DDR1.In summary, our data shows that DDR1 is a tumor-promoting factor that can control cell proliferation and cell cycle by stabilizing SLC1A5 in a lysosome-dependent pathway, which provides a new treatment target for HCC. Conclusions This study reveals a new mechanism through which DDR1 can play the role of cancer-promoting genes in the progression of liver cancer. We also found that the expression of DDR1 is an independent prognostic indicator of OS, and the expression of DDR1 and SLC1A5 are positively correlated in clinical samples. Our findings provide a new perspective for understanding the development of HCC, which may provide new targets for the treatment and management of this challenging cancer.

scholarly journals Aberrantly high activation of a FoxM1–STMN1 axis contributes to progression and tumorigenesis in FoxM1-driven cancers

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Liu ◽  
Jipeng Li ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Haiming Liu ◽  
Jianyong Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
Soft Agar ◽  
Transcriptional Level ◽  
Regulation Mechanism ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Cell Viability Assay ◽  
High Level

AbstractFork-head box protein M1 (FoxM1) is a transcriptional factor which plays critical roles in cancer development and progression. However, the general regulatory mechanism of FoxM1 is still limited. STMN1 is a microtubule-binding protein which can inhibit the assembly of microtubule dimer or promote depolymerization of microtubules. It was reported as a major responsive factor of paclitaxel resistance for clinical chemotherapy of tumor patients. But the function of abnormally high level of STMN1 and its regulation mechanism in cancer cells remain unclear. In this study, we used public database and tissue microarrays to analyze the expression pattern of FoxM1 and STMN1 and found a strong positive correlation between FoxM1 and STMN1 in multiple types of cancer. Lentivirus-mediated FoxM1/STMN1-knockdown cell lines were established to study the function of FoxM1/STMN1 by performing cell viability assay, plate clone formation assay, soft agar assay in vitro and xenograft mouse model in vivo. Our results showed that FoxM1 promotes cell proliferation by upregulating STMN1. Further ChIP assay showed that FoxM1 upregulates STMN1 in a transcriptional level. Prognostic analysis showed that a high level of FoxM1 and STMN1 is related to poor prognosis in solid tumors. Moreover, a high co-expression of FoxM1 and STMN1 has a more significant correlation with poor prognosis. Our findings suggest that a general FoxM1-STMN1 axis contributes to cell proliferation and tumorigenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. The combination of FoxM1 and STMN1 can be a more precise biomarker for prognostic prediction.

scholarly journals BRD4 PROTAC degrader ARV-825 inhibits T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia by targeting 'Undruggable' Myc-pathway genes

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuiyan Wu ◽  
You Jiang ◽  
Yi Hong ◽  
Xinran Chu ◽  
Zimu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Caspase 3 ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Bet Protein

Abstract Background T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive disease with a high risk of induction failure and poor outcomes, with relapse due to drug resistance. Recent studies show that bromodomains and extra-terminal (BET) protein inhibitors are promising anti-cancer agents. ARV-825, comprising a BET inhibitor conjugated with cereblon ligand, was recently developed to attenuate the growth of multiple tumors in vitro and in vivo. However, the functional and molecular mechanisms of ARV-825 in T-ALL remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and potential mechanism of ARV-825 in T-ALL. Methods Expression of the BRD4 were determined in pediatric T-ALL samples and differential gene expression after ARV-825 treatment was explored by RNA-seq and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. T-ALL cell viability was measured by CCK8 assay after ARV-825 administration. Cell cycle was analyzed by propidium iodide (PI) staining and apoptosis was assessed by Annexin V/PI staining. BRD4, BRD3 and BRD2 proteins were detected by western blot in cells treated with ARV-825. The effect of ARV-825 on T-ALL cells was analyzed in vivo. The functional and molecular pathways involved in ARV-825 treatment of T-ALL were verified by western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Results BRD4 expression was higher in pediatric T-ALL samples compared with T-cells from healthy donors. High BRD4 expression indicated a poor outcome. ARV-825 suppressed cell proliferation in vitro by arresting the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis, with elevated poly-ADP ribose polymerase and cleaved caspase 3. BRD4, BRD3, and BRD2 were degraded in line with reduced cereblon expression in T-ALL cells. ARV-825 had a lower IC50 in T-ALL cells compared with JQ1, dBET1 and OTX015. ARV-825 perturbed the H3K27Ac-Myc pathway and reduced c-Myc protein levels in T-ALL cells according to RNA-seq and ChIP. In the T-ALL xenograft model, ARV-825 significantly reduced tumor growth and led to the dysregulation of Ki67 and cleaved caspase 3. Moreover, ARV-825 inhibited cell proliferation by depleting BET and c-Myc proteins in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions BRD4 indicates a poor prognosis in T-ALL. The BRD4 degrader ARV-825 can effectively suppress the proliferation and promote apoptosis of T-ALL cells via BET protein depletion and c-Myc inhibition, thus providing a new strategy for the treatment of T-ALL.

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