Nrf2 signaling promotes cancer stemness, migration, and expression of ABC transporter genes in sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Background and aim As a multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor, sorafenib is widely used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but patients frequently face resistance problems. Because the mechanism controlling sorafenib-resistance is not well understood, this study focused on the connection between tumor characteristics and the Nrf2 signaling pathway in a sorafenib-resistant HCC cell line. Methods A sorafenib-resistant HCC cell line (Huh7) was developed by increasing the dose of sorafenib in the culture medium until the target concentration was reached. Cell morphology, migration/invasion rates, and expression of stemness-related and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes were compared between sorafenib-resistant Huh7 cells and parental Huh7 cells. Next, a small interfering RNA was used to knock down Nrf2 expression in sorafenib-resistant Huh7 cells, after which cell viability, stemness, migration, and ABC transporter gene expression were examined again. Results Proliferation, migration, and invasion rates of sorafenib-resistant Huh7 cells were significantly increased relative to the parental cells with or without sorafenib added to the medium. The expression levels of stemness markers and ABC transporter genes were up-regulated in sorafenib-resistant cells. After Nrf2 was knocked down in sorafenib-resistant cells, cell migration and invasion rates were reduced, and expression levels of stemness markers and ABC transporter genes were reduced. Conclusion Nrf2 signaling promotes cancer stemness, migration, and expression of ABC transporter genes in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells.

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Upregulated LINC01667 Expression Is Correlated With Poor Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Frontiers in Oncology ◽

10.3389/fonc.2021.650173 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Kainan Zhang ◽

Hui Liu ◽

Mengsi Yu ◽

Hui Zhao ◽

Ning Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Poor Overall Survival ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Huh7 Cells ◽

Gene Expression Levels

The development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a complex pathological process. Long intergenic non–protein-coding RNA 1667 (LINC01667, also known as MGC38584) plays an oncogenic role in several human cancers; however, its functional role in HCC tumorigenesis remains unknown. Here, we first evaluated the gene expression levels of LINC01667 in HCC using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. We then elucidated the association between LINC01667 gene expression levels and the survival rates of patients with HCC. We detected the effect of LINC01667 on the malignant phenotypes (cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis etc.) and the MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways of HepG2, SMMC-7721 and HUH7 cells. We also analyzed the sensitivity of HepG2, SMMC-7721 and HUH7 with different expression levels of LINC01667 to anti-HCC drugs in vitro. Based on data from the aforementioned databases and our experiments in vitro, we found that LINC01667 was overexpressed in HCC, and that patients with high LINC01667 levels had a remarkably poor overall survival rate. In addition, inhibition of LINC01667 expression suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells and promoted their apoptosis in vitro. In contrast, overexpression of LINC01667 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of HUH7 cells and suppressed their apoptosis in vitro. ChIRP-seq (chromatin isolation by RNA purification) showed that LINC01667 bound to MEG3, and downregulated the expression of MEG3. In addition, western blotting showed that LINC01667 could activate the NF-κB pathway to promote cancer progression. In conclusion, we report that LINC01667 is an important oncogene in HCC and may be used as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of HCC.

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3,3′-Diindolylmethane Suppresses the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating Its Invasion, Migration and ER Stress-Mediated Mitochondrial Apoptosis

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10051178 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 1178

Author(s):

Suvesh Munakarmi ◽

Juna Shrestha ◽

Hyun-Beak Shin ◽

Geum-Hwa Lee ◽

Yeon-Jun Jeong

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Er Stress ◽

Hepatoma Cell ◽

Biologically Active ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Huh7 Cells ◽

Anti Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide with limited treatment options. Biomarker-based active phenolic flavonoids isolated from medicinal plants might shed some light on potential therapeutics for treating HCC. 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) is a unique biologically active dimer of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a phytochemical compound derived from Brassica species of cruciferous vegetables—such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower. It has anti-cancer effects on various cancers such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, and colon cancer. However, the molecular mechanism of DIM involved in reducing cancer risk and/or enhancing therapy remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate anti-cancer and therapeutic effects of DIM in human hepatoma cell lines Hep3B and HuhCell proliferation was measured with MTT and trypan blue colony formation assays. Migration, invasion, and apoptosis were measured with Transwell assays and flow cytometry analyses. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) intensity and the loss in mitochondrial membrane potential of Hep3B and Huh7 cells were determined using dihydroethidium (DHE) staining and tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester dye. Results showed that DIM significantly suppressed HCC cell growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, DIM treatment activated caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway and suppressed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) via ER stress and unfolded protein response (UPR). Taken together, our results suggest that DIM is a potential anticancer drug for HCC therapy by targeting ER-stress/UPR.

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LncRNA-SNHG6 promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting miR-6509-5p and HIF1A

Cancer Cell International ◽

10.1186/s12935-021-01835-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoxi Fan ◽

Zhongwei Zhao ◽

Jingjing Song ◽

Dengke Zhang ◽

Fazong Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Tumor Growth ◽

Bioinformatics Analysis ◽

Carcinoma Cell ◽

Noncoding Rnas ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Carcinoma Cell Lines ◽

Huh7 Cells ◽

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell

Abstract Background Accumulating evidences have been reported that long noncoding RNAs play crucial roles in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). SnoRNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) is believed to be involved in several human cancers, but the specific molecular mechanism of SNHG6 in HCC is not well studied. Methods In this study, we experimentally down-regulated the SNHG6 in two hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines in vitro, and then measured the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities and the apoptotic levels. Also, we performed the xenograft assay to investigate the function of SNHG6 during the tumor growth in vivo. Results We found SNHG6 was highly expressed in HCC tissues. Next, using Hep3B and Huh7 cells, we confirmed knockdown of SNHG6 reduced the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities in vitro. Also, by bioinformatics analysis, further molecular and cellular experiments, we found miR-6509-5p bound to SNHG6 directly, and the expression level of HIF1A was regulated through SNHG6/miR-6509-5p axis. Finally, we found that down-regulation of SNHG6 dramatically reduced the tumor growth ability of Huh7 cells in vivo. Conclusions We concluded that SNHG6/miR-6509-5p/HIF1A axis functioned in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, and could be the promising therapeutic targets during the development of hepatocellular carcinoma drugs.

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Anti-Cancer Effects of Glaucarubinone in the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Line Huh7 via Regulation of the Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition-Associated Transcription Factor Twist1

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22041700 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 1700

Author(s):

Jihye Seo ◽

Jain Ha ◽

Eunjeong Kang ◽

Haelim Yoon ◽

Sewoong Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Wound Healing ◽

Transcription Factor ◽

Cell Migration ◽

Cell Line ◽

Intracellular Signaling ◽

Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Huh7 Cells ◽

Anti Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. As HCC has a high mortality rate and its incidence is increasing worldwide, understanding and treating HCC are crucial for resolving major public health concerns. In the present study, wound healing screening assays were performed using natural product libraries to identify natural chemicals that can inhibit cancer cell migration. Glaucarubinone (GCB) showed a high potential for inhibiting cell migration. The anti-cancer effects of GCB were evaluated using the HCC cell line, Huh7. GCB showed anti-cancer effects, as verified by wound healing, cell migration, invasion, colony formation, and three-dimensional spheroid invasion assays. In addition, cells treated with GCB showed suppressed matrix metalloproteinase activities. Immunoblotting analyses of intracellular signaling pathways revealed that GCB regulated the levels of Twist1, a crucial transcription factor associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and mitogen-activated protein kinase. The invasive ability of cancer cells was found to be decreased by the regulation of Twist1 protein levels. Furthermore, GCB downregulated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase. These results indicate that GCB exhibits anti-metastatic properties in Huh7 cells, suggesting that it could be used to treat HCC.

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miR-369-3p serves as prognostic factor and regulates cancer progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

Personalized Medicine ◽

10.2217/pme-2020-0012 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Can Chen ◽

Yi Zong ◽

Jiaojiao Tang ◽

Ruisheng Ke ◽

Lizhi Lv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Cell Counting ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Pcr Analysis ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

Huh7 Cells

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-369-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials & methods: The expression levels of miR-369-3p were detected using the quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR analysis. The cell counting kit-8 and transwell assays were used to explore the effects of miR-369-3p on cell proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. Results: The miR-369-3p expression was downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines, in comparison to the normal controls, respectively. In vitro, overexpression of miR-369-3p in Hep 3B and Huh7 cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion. SOX4 was a direct target of miR-369-3p. Conclusion: Our results suggested that miR-369-3p may be a tumor suppressor in HCC by targeting SOX4.

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High Expression of ANXA2 Pseudogene ANXA2P2 Promotes an Aggressive Phenotype in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Disease Markers ◽

10.1155/2019/9267046 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Qiu-shuang Wang ◽

Liang-Liang Shi ◽

Fei Sun ◽

Yi-fan Zhang ◽

Ren-Wang Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Annexin A2 ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

High Expression ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Targeted Drugs ◽

Noncancerous Tissue ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Hcc Cells

Objective. Accumulating evidence suggests that pseudogenes play potential roles in the regulation of their cognate wild-type genes, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes. ANXA2P2 (annexin A2 pseudogene 2) is one of three pseudogenes of annexin A2 that have recently been shown to be aberrantly transcribed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. However, its clinical meaning and biological function in HCC have remained unclear. Therefore, the present study was aimed at exploring the prognostic value of a high expression of ANXA2P2 in HCC tissue and at identifying whether it can affect the efficacy of targeted drugs (sorafenib, regorafenib, and lenvatinib). Methods. We obtained ANXA2P2 mRNA expression levels from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNA sequence database. The expression levels of ANXA2P2 in 49 pairs of intratumoral and peritumoral liver tissues were examined by RT-PCR. Wound healing and transwell assays were performed to confirm the tumor-promoting properties of ANXA2P2 in HCC cells. CCK8 assay was conducted to identify whether ANXA2P2 can affect the growth of HCC cells when administered with targeted drugs (sorafenib, regorafenib, and lenvatinib). Results. The expression of ANXA2P2 in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent cancerous tissues from TCGA database and validation group. Additionally, patients with high ANXA2P2 expression in HCC tissue had a shorter overall survival, whereas no statistically significant correlation was found between ANXA2P2 expression and disease-free survival (p=0.08) as well as other clinical parameters, such as age, gender, histological grade, T classification, stage, albumin level, alpha-fetoprotein, and vascular invasion (p=0.7323, 0.8807, 0.5762, 0.8515, 0.7113, 0.242, 1.0000, and 0.7685, respectively). Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that knockdown of ANXA2P2 inhibited migration and invasion of HCC cells but did not have an influence on the HCC cell proliferation when treated with targeted drugs (sorafenib, regorafenib, and lenvatinib). Conclusion. Our study confirmed elevated ANXA2P2 expression levels in HCC tissue compared with adjacent noncancerous tissue and a worse prognosis of patients with high ANXA2P2 levels in the HCC tissue. The newly found properties of promoting migration and invasion of ANXA2P2 in HCC help to explain this phenomenon. ANXA2P2 could be a novel and suitable predicative biomarker for the risk assessment of recurrence or metastasis of HCC patients but may not be effective to predict the efficacy of targeted drugs.

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Silencing of the TROP2 gene suppresses proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells

Journal of International Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0300060518822913 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 1319-1329 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jian Zhang ◽

Hai Ma ◽

Liu Yang ◽

Hongchun Yang ◽

Zhenxing He

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Protein Expression ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Human Trophoblast ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Proliferation And Invasion

Objectives Overexpression of human trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (Trop2) has been observed in many cancers; however, its roles in proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the function of Trop2 in HCC. Methods Trop2 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissues. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion were respectively measured by CCK-8, flow cytometry, Transwell, and wound healing assays. Expression levels of epithelial–mesenchymal transition-related proteins and Trop2 protein in HCC cell lines were detected by western blotting after silencing of the TROP2 gene. Results Trop2 protein was highly expressed in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines. Trop2 mRNA and protein expression levels decreased in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells after transfection with Trop2 siRNA. Silencing of the TROP2 gene in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells strongly inhibited cell proliferation and migration, while enhancing cell apoptosis. Investigation of the molecular mechanism revealed that silencing of the TROP2 gene suppressed epithelial–mesenchymal transition of HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells. Conclusions The results of the present study may improve understanding of the role of Trop2 in regulation of cell proliferation and invasion, and may aid in development of novel therapy for HCC.

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The antitumor effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on gastroenterological cancer.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2015.33.3_suppl.335 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 33 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 335-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shuichi Iwahashi ◽

Mitsuo Shimada ◽

Yuji Morine ◽

Satoru Imura ◽

Tetsuya Ikemoto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Line ◽

Abc Transporter ◽

Antitumor Agents ◽

Gene Expressions ◽

Anticancer Effects ◽

Genes Expression ◽

Hct 116 ◽

Abc Transporter Genes ◽

Dose Dependent ◽

Gastroenterological Cancer

335 Background: Green tea is one of the most popular beverages it contains many catechins such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) inhibits cancer growth. The aim of this study was to elucidate the anti-tumor effect and the effect for spheres of EGCG. Methods: Human hepatoma-derived cell line (HepG2) and human colorectal carcinoma cell line (HCT-116) were used. The anticancer effects of EGCG was studied by MTT assay. We made cancer sphere from HepG2 cells, and we added EGCG to cancer sphere. And we compared the gene expressions of RT-PCR between normal HepG2 and cancer sphere groups. Results: EGCG had the anti-tumor effect in dose-dependent. Furthermore, EGCG cancelled this spheroid formation, EGCG down-regulated the Nanog and CD133, related stemnesss genes. And then, EGCG down-regulated the ABCG1and Nek2, related ABC transporter genes, expression in sphere. Conclusions: EGCG had the anti-tumor effects on gastroenterological cancer, and EGCG had the effect to sphere, same as cancer stem cell thorough the down-regulation of ABC transporter related genes. Therefore, EGCG might be used as the safe and novel antitumor agents.

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Effects of LncRNA-HOST2 on cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721

Bioscience Reports ◽

10.1042/bsr20160532 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Run-Tian Liu ◽

Jing-Lin Cao ◽

Chang-Qing Yan ◽

Yang Wang ◽

Cong-Jing An ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Cell Migration ◽

Cell Line ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Experimental Group

The present study explored the effect of long non-coding RNA-human ovarian cancer-specific transcript 2 (LncRNA-HOST2) on cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line SMMC-7721. HCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues from 162 HCC patients were collected. The HCC cell lines were assigned into the control group (regular culture), negative control (NC) group (transfected with siRNA) and experimental group (transfected with Lnc-HOST2 siRNA). Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of LncRNA-HOST2. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 and colony-forming assays, cell apoptosis by flow cytometry and cell migration by Scratch test. Transwell assay was used to evaluate cell migration and invasion abilities. LncRNA-HOST2 expression in the HCC tissues increased 2–10 times than that in the adjacent normal tissues. Compared with the HL-7702 cell line, LncRNA-HOST2 expression in HepG2, SMMC-7721 and Huh7 cell lines was all up-regulated, but the SMMC-7721 cell had the highest Lnc-HOST2 expression. The LncRNA-HOST2 expression in the experimental group was down-regulated as compared with the control and NC groups. In comparison with the control and NC groups, cloned cells reduced, cell apoptosis increased, clone-forming ability weakened and inhibitory rate of colony formation increased in the experimental group. The cells migrating and penetrating into the transwell chamber were fewer in the experimental group than those in the control and NC groups. The experimental group exhibited slow wound healing and decreased cell migration area after 48 h. These findings indicate that LncRNA-HOST2 can promote cell proliferation, migration and invasion and inhibit cell apoptosis in human HCC cell line SMMC-7721.

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LncRNA-SNHG6 promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting miR-6509-5p and HIF1A

10.21203/rs.3.rs-35115/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoxi Fan ◽

Zhongwei Zhao ◽

Jingjing Song ◽

Dengke Zhang ◽

Fazong Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Tumor Growth ◽

Bioinformatics Analysis ◽

Carcinoma Cell ◽

Noncoding Rnas ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Carcinoma Cell Lines ◽

Huh7 Cells ◽

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell ◽

Growth Ability

Abstract Background: Accumulating evidences have been reported that long noncoding RNAs play crucial roles in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). SnoRNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) is believed to be involved in several human cancers, but the specific molecular mechanism of SNHG6 in HCC is not well studied. Methods: In this study, we experimentally down-regulated the SNHG6 in two hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines in vitro, and then measured the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities and the apoptotic levels. Also, we performed the xenograft assay to investigate the function of SNHG6 during the tumor growth in vivo. Results: We found SNHG6 was highly expressed in HCC tissues. Next, using Hep3B and Huh7 cells, we confirmed knockdown of SNHG6 reduced the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities in vitro. Also, by bioinformatics analysis, further molecular and cellular experiments, we found miR-6509-5p bound to SNHG6 directly, and the expression level of HIF1A was regulated through SNHG6/miR-6509-5p axis. Finally, we found that down-regulation of SNHG6 dramatically reduced the tumor growth ability of Huh7 cells in vivo. Conclusions: We concluded that SNHG6/miR-6509-5p/HIF1A axis functioned in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, and could be the promising therapeutic targets during the development of hepatocellular carcinoma drugs.

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