Survivin inhibitor YM155 suppresses gastric cancer xenograft growth in mice without affecting normal tissues

BackgroundThe activation of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) facilitates the progression of gastric cancer (GC). Cell metabolism reprogramming has been shown to play a vital role in the polarization of TAMs. However, the role of methionine metabolism in function of TAMs remains to be explored.MethodsMonocytes/macrophages were isolated from peripheral blood, tumor tissues or normal tissues from healthy donors or patients with GC. The role of methionine metabolism in the activation of TAMs was evaluated with both in vivo analyses and in vitro experiments. Pharmacological inhibition of the methionine cycle and modulation of key metabolic genes was employed, where molecular and biological analyses were performed.ResultsTAMs have increased methionine cycle activity that are mainly attributed to elevated methionine adenosyltransferase II alpha (MAT2A) levels. MAT2A modulates the activation and maintenance of the phenotype of TAMs and mediates the upregulation of RIP1 by increasing the histone H3K4 methylation (H3K4me3) at its promoter regions.ConclusionsOur data cast light on a novel mechanism by which methionine metabolism regulates the anti-inflammatory functions of monocytes in GC. MAT2A might be a potential therapeutic target for cancer cells as well as TAMs in GC.

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Distinctive Prognostic Value and Cellular Functions of Osteopontin Splice Variants in Human Gastric Cancer

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10071820 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1820

Author(s):

Chengcheng Hao ◽

Yuxin Cui ◽

Jane Lane ◽

Shuqin Jia ◽

Jiafu Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Prognostic Value ◽

Splice Variants ◽

Tnm Staging ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Ros Production ◽

Gastric Cancer Cells ◽

Normal Tissues

Background: Osteopontin (OPN) splice variants are identified as predictors of tumour progression and therapeutic resistance in certain types of solid tumours. However, their roles in gastric cancer (GC) remain poorly characterized. The current study sought to assess the prognostic value of the three OPN splice variants (namely OPN-a, OPN-b, and OPN-c) in gastric cancer and their potential functions within gastric cancer cells. Methods: RNA extraction and reverse transcription were performed using our clinical cohort of gastric carcinomas and matched normal tissues (n = 324 matched pairs). Transcript levels were determined using real-time quantitative PCR. Three OPN splice variants overexpressed cell lines were created from the gastric cancer cell line HGC-27. Subsequently, biological functions, including cell growth, adhesion, migration, and invasion, were studied. The potential effects of OPN isoforms on cisplatin and 5-Fu were evaluated by detecting cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in the HGC-27-derived cell lines. Results: Compared with normal tissues, the expression levels of three splice variants were all elevated in gastric cancer tissues in an order of OPN-a > OPN-b > OPN-c. The OPN-a level significantly increased with increasing TNM staging and worse clinical outcome. There appeared to be a downregulation for OPN-c in increasing lymph node status (p < 0.05), increasing TNM staging, and poor differentiation. High levels of OPN-a and OPN-b were correlated with short overall survival and disease-free survival of gastric cancer patients. However, the low expression of OPN-c was significantly associated with a poor prognosis. Functional analyses further showed that ectopic expression of OPN-c suppressed in vitro proliferation, adhesiveness, migration, and invasion properties of HGC-27 cells, while the opposite role was seen for OPN-a. Cellular ROS detection indicated that OPN-a and OPN-c significantly promoted ROS production after treatment with 5-Fu comparing to OPN-vector, while only OPN-a markedly induced ROS production after treatment with cisplatin. Conclusion: Our results suggest that OPN splice variants have distinguished potential to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer. Three OPN variants exert distinctive functions in gastric cancer cells. Focusing on specific OPN isoforms could be a novel direction for developing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in gastric cancer.

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Evaluation of the prognostic value of CBXs in gastric cancer patients

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-91649-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mengya He ◽

Limin Yue ◽

Haiyan Wang ◽

Feiyan Yu ◽

Mingyang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Target Genes ◽

Prognostic Significance ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Genetic Alterations ◽

Genetic Mutation ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Interactive Analysis ◽

Gastric Cancer Patients

AbstractChromobox (CBX) proteins were suggested to exert epigenetic regulatory and transcriptionally repressing effects on target genes and might play key roles in the carcinogenesis of a variety of carcinomas. Nevertheless, the functions and prognostic significance of CBXs in gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. The current study investigated the roles of CBXs in the prognosis of GC using the Oncomine, The Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), UALCAN, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and cBioPortal databases. CBX1/2/3/4/5 were significantly upregulated in GC tissues compared with normal tissues, and CBX7 was downregulated. Multivariate analysis showed that high mRNA expression levels of CBX3/8 were independent prognostic factors for prolonged OS in GC patients. In addition, the genetic mutation rate of CBXs was 37% in GC patients, and genetic alterations in CBXs showed no association with OS or disease-free survival (DFS) in GC patients. These results indicated that CBX3/8 can be prognostic biomarkers for the survival of GC patients.

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miR-299-3p suppresses cell progression and induces apoptosis by downregulating PAX3 in gastric cancer

Open Life Sciences ◽

10.1515/biol-2021-0022 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 266-276

Author(s):

Zhenfen Wang ◽

Qing Liu ◽

Ping Huang ◽

Guohao Cai

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Western Blot ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Reporter System ◽

Western Blot Assay ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Cell Progression ◽

Luciferase Reporter System ◽

Proliferation And Invasion

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is ranked the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death, with an over 75% mortality rate worldwide. In recent years, miR-299-3p has been identified as a biomarker in multiple cancers, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia, thyroid cancer, and lung cancer. However, the regulatory mechanism of miR-299-3p in GC cell progression is still largely unclear. Cell viability and apoptosis tests were performed by CCK8 and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Transwell assay was recruited to examine cell invasion ability. The interaction between miR-299-3p and PAX3 was determined by the luciferase reporter system. PAX3 protein level was evaluated by western blot assay. The expression of miR-299-3p was downregulated in GC tissues and cell lines (MKN-45, AGS, and MGC-803) compared with the normal tissues and cells. Besides, overexpression of miR-299-3p significantly suppressed proliferation and invasion and promoted apoptosis in GC. Next, we clarified that PAX3 expression was regulated by miR-299-3p using a luciferase reporter system, qRT-PCR, and western blot assay. Additionally, downregulation of PAX3 repressed GC cell progression. The rescue experiments indicated that restoration of PAX3 inversed miR-299-3p-mediated inhibition on cell proliferation and invasion. miR-299-3p suppresses cell proliferation and invasion as well as induces apoptosis by regulating PAX3 expression in GC, representing desirable biomarkers for GC diagnosis and therapy.

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Identification of key genes related to macrophage infiltration in gastric cancer based on WGCNA

10.21203/rs.3.rs-56342/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Haiyan Chen ◽

Cangang Zhang ◽

Shuai Cao ◽

Meng Cao ◽

Nana Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Accurate Diagnosis ◽

Marker Genes ◽

Hub Genes ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Tumor Tissues ◽

New Strategy ◽

Tumor Environment ◽

Advanced Stages

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is rampant around the world. Most of the GC cases are detected in advanced stages with poor prognosis. The identification of marker genes for early diagnosis is of great significance. Studying the tumor environment is helpful to acknowledge the process of tumorigenesis, development, and metastasis.Methods: In GEO, 22 kinds of immune cell infiltration were calculated by CIBERSORT. Macrophages were discovered remarkably infiltrated higher in GC compared with normal tissues. WGCNA was utilized to construct the network and then identify key modules and genes related to macrophages in TCGA.Results: Finally, 18 hub genes were verified. In the PPI bar chart, the top 3 genes were chosen as hub genes involved in most pathways. On the TIMER and THPA websites, it is verified that the expression levels of CYBB, CD86 and C3AR1 genes in tumor tissues were higher than those in normal tissues.Conclusion: These genes may work as biomarkers or targets for accurate diagnosis and treatment of GC in the future. Our findings may be a new strategy for the treatment of GC.

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Apelin Over-Expression Promotes Proliferation and Angiogenesis of Gastric Cancer Cells

10.21203/rs.3.rs-530677/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Li-Jun Tian ◽

Hong-Zhi Liu ◽

Qiang Zhang ◽

Dian-Zhong Geng ◽

Jing Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Cyclin D1 ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Gastric Cancer Cells ◽

Over Expression ◽

Normal Tissues

Abstract Background: Apelin is a recently identified endogenous ligand associated with proliferation and angiogenesis of several cancers. However, only few studies have reported on the functions and the role of apelin in gastric cancer (GC). Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the association and the mechanisms underlying Apelin expression and proliferation of GC cells both in vitro and in vivo.Methods: We enrolled 178 postoperative care GC patients to investigate clinicopathological and immunohistochemical factors associated with Apelin expression. The relationship between Survival of patients and apelin expression was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analyses. The expression of apelin mRNA and its proteins in GC tissues and cell lines were analyzed using quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot and ELISA. The role and mechanisms underlying regulation of Apelin expression in human GC cells were evaluated through several in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results: Apelin was over expressed in human GC cells, relative to adjacent normal tissues. The over expression of apelin was associated with vessel invasion (P <0.01), lymph node metastasis (P <0.01), late-staged tumor (T) (P <0.05), worse pathological type (P <0.05), nerve invasion (P <0.05). In addition, expression of apelin strongly and positively correlated with that of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Over-expression of apelin promoted proliferation and invasion of MGC-803 cell via the ERK/Cyclin D1/MMP-9 signaling pathway. Apelin over-expression also promoted angiogenesis of GC cells, accelerating growth of subcutaneous xenograft of the cancer cells in vivo.Conclusions: Over-expression of apelin promotes proliferation and metastasis of GC cells via the ERK/Cyclin D1/MMP-9 signaling pathway and is associated with adverse events of the cancer. Consequently, apelin is a potential therapeutic target for human GC.

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The expression characteristics and prognostic roles of autophagy-related genes in gastric cancer

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.10814 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e10814

Author(s):

Mengya Wang ◽

Jingjing Jing ◽

Hao Li ◽

Jingwei Liu ◽

Yuan Yuan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Prognostic Factors ◽

Differential Expression Analysis ◽

Gene Expression Omnibus ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Genes Expression ◽

Expression Characteristics ◽

Cellular Components

Background Autophagy is an evolutionally highly conserved process, accompanied by the dynamic changes of various molecules, which is necessary for the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components. The aim of the study was to identify the role of autophagy-related (ATG) genes in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC). Methods Data from Oncomine dataset was used for the differential expression analysis between cancer and normal tissues. The association of ATG genes expression with clinicopathologic indicators was evaluated by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Moreover, using the TCGA datasets, the prognostic role of ATG genes was assessed. A nomogram was further built to assess the independent prognostic factors. Results The expression of autophagy-related genes AMBRA1, ATG4B, ATG7, ATG10, ATG12, ATG16L2, GABARAPL2, GABARAPL1, ULK4 and WIPI2 showed differences between cancer and normal tissues. After verification, ATG14 and ATG4D were significantly associated with TNM stage. ATG9A, ATG2A, and ATG4D were associated with T stage. VMP1 and ATG4A were low-expressed in patients without lymph node metastasis. No gene in autophagy pathway was associated with M stage. Further multivariate analysis suggested that ATG4D and MAP1LC3C were independent prognostic factors for GC. The C-index of nomogram was 0.676 and the 95% CI was 0.628 to 0.724. Conclusion Our study provided a comprehensive illustration of ATG genes expression characteristics in GC. Abnormal expressions of the ubiquitin-like conjugated system in ATG genes plays a key role in the occurrence of GC. ATG8/LC3 sub-system may play an important role in development and clinical outcome of GC. In the future, it is necessary to further elucidate the alterations of specific ATG8/LC3 forms in order to provide insights for the discovery, diagnosis, or targeting for GC.

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Immune Cell Landscape in Gastric Cancer

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2021/1930706 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Yang Yang ◽

Wei He ◽

Zi-rui Wang ◽

Yu-jiao Wang ◽

Lan-lan Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

B Cells ◽

Immune Cells ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

Molecular Therapy ◽

Expression Level ◽

Regulatory Factors ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

The Relationship

Background. The tumor-infiltrating immune cells are closely associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). This article is aimed at determining the composition change of immune cells and immune regulatory factors in GC and normal tissues, depicting their prognosis value in GC, and revealing the relationship between them and GC clinical parameters. Methods. We used CIBERSORT to calculate the proportion of 22 immune cells in the GC or normal tissues; a t -test was applied to assess the expression difference of immune cells and immune regulatory factors in normal and GC tissues. The relationship of the immune cells, immune regulatory factors, and GC patients’ clinical characteristics was assessed by univariate analysis. Results. In this study, we found that the proportion of macrophages increased, while plasma cells and monocytes decreased in GC tissues. In these immune fractions, Tregs and naïve B cells were found to be correlated with GC patients’ prognosis. Interestingly, the expression of immune regulatory factors was ambiguous with their classical function in GC tissues. For example, TIM-3, FOXP3, and CMTM6 were overexpressed, while CD27 and PD-1 were underexpressed in GC tissues. We also found that IDO1, PD-1, TIGIT, and TIM-3 were highly expressed in high-grade GC tissues, the HERC2 expression level was related to patients’ gender, and the TIGIT expression level was sensitive to targeted therapy. Furthermore, our results suggested that the infiltration of Tregs and naive B cells was strongly correlated with the T stage, radiation therapy, targeted molecular therapy, and the expression levels of TIM-3 and FOXP3 in GC. Conclusion. The expression pattern of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune regulatory factors was systematically depicted in the GC tumor microenvironment, indicating that individualized treatment based on the tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune regulatory factors may be beneficial to GC patients.

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