scholarly journals DAB2IP predicts treatment response and prognosis of ESCC patients and modulates its radiosensitivity through enhancing IR-induced activation of the ASK1-JNK pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Li ◽  
Meng Xu ◽  
Weiyang Fang ◽  
Xiangcun Chen ◽  
Jifei Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Disabled homolog 2 interacting protein (DAB2IP) plays a tumor-suppressive role in several types of human cancers. However, the molecular status and function of the DAB2IP gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is rarely reported. Methods: We examined the expression dynamics of DAB2IP by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 140 ESCC patients treated with definite chemoradiotherapy. A series of in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to elucidate the effect of DAB2IP on the chemoradiotherapy (CRT) response and its underlying mechanisms in ESCC. Results: Decreased expression of DAB2IP in ESCCs correlated positively with ESCC resistance to CRT and was a strong and independent predictor for short disease-specific survival (DSS) of ESCC patients. Furthermore, the therapeutic sensitivity of CRT was substantially increased by ectopic overexpression of DAB2IP in ESCC cells. In addition, knockdown of DAB2IP dramatically enhanced resistance to CRT in ESCC. Finally, we demonstrated that DAB2IP regulates ESCC cell radiosensitivity through enhancing ionizing radiation (IR)-induced activation of the ASK1-JNK signaling pathway. Conclusions: Our data highlight the molecular etiology and clinical significance of DAB2IP in ESCC, which may represent a new therapeutic strategy to improve therapy and survival for ESCC patients. Keywords: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; DAB2IP; chemoradiosensitivity; ASK1; JNK

Author(s):  
Xuechao Jia ◽  
Chuntian Huang ◽  
Yamei Hu ◽  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Fangfang Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive and lethal cancer with a low 5 year survival rate. Identification of new therapeutic targets and its inhibitors remain essential for ESCC prevention and treatment. Methods TYK2 protein levels were checked by immunohistochemistry. The function of TYK2 in cell proliferation was investigated by MTT [(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and anchorage-independent cell growth. Computer docking, pull-down assay, surface plasmon resonance, and kinase assay were used to confirm the binding and inhibition of TYK2 by cirsiliol. Cell proliferation, western blot and patient-derived xenograft tumor model were used to determine the inhibitory effects and mechanism of cirsiliol in ESCC. Results TYK2 was overexpressed and served as an oncogene in ESCC. Cirsiliol could bind with TYK2 and inhibit its activity, thereby decreasing dimer formation and nucleus localization of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Cirsiliol could inhibit ESCC growth in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions TYK2 is a potential target in ESCC, and cirsiliol could inhibit ESCC by suppression of TYK2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaodan Wu ◽  
Yihui Fan ◽  
Yupeng Liu ◽  
Biao Shen ◽  
Haimin Lu ◽  
...  

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in human cancers, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In the current study, we identified CCAT2 as a relevant lncRNA and investigated its role in the progression of ESCC. RT-qPCR was adopted to detect CCAT2 expression in collected clinical samples, ESCC cell lines, and a normal cell line. We tested the correlation between CCAT2 expression and the prognosis of ESCC. RT-qPCR or immunoblotting was adopted to detect the expression of relevant factors in ESCC tissues or cells. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were examined by colony formation assay, flow cytometry, scratch assay, and Transwell assay, respectively, while subcutaneous tumorigenesis in nude mice was adopted to examine the role of CCAT2 in tumorigenesis of ESCC cells in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis, dual luciferase reporter assay, and RIP were conducted for the target relationship profiling. Me-RIP was adopted to detect m6A modification level of TK1 in ESCC tissues or cells. Upregulated CCAT2, IGF2BP2, and TK1 expression and inhibited miR-200b expression were observed in ESCC cells and tissues. CCAT2 bound to miR-200b and reduced its expression, leading to upregulated IGF2BP2 expression. IGF2BP2 improved TK1 mRNA stability to enhance its expression by recognizing its m6A modification. CCAT2 promoted the migration and invasion of ESCC cells in vitro, and tumorigenesis in vivo by upregulating TK1 expression, while overexpression of miR-200b reversed these effects of CCAT2. Overall, this study suggests that CCAT2 competitively binds to miR-200b to alleviate its inhibitory effects on IGF2BP2 expression, resulting in elevated TK1 expression, and an ensuing promotion of the development of ESCC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze-nan Zheng ◽  
Guang-zhao Huang ◽  
Qing-qing Wu ◽  
Heng-yu Ye ◽  
Wei-sen Zeng ◽  
...  

AbstractOral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral cancer. The molecular mechanisms of this disease are not fully understood. Our previous studies confirmed that dysregulated function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) AC007271.3 was associated with a poor prognosis and overexpression of AC007271.3 promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis in vitro, and promoted tumor growth in vivo. However, the underlying mechanisms of AC007271.3 dysregulation remained obscure. In this study, our investigation showed that AC007271.3 functioned as competing endogenous RNA by binding to miR-125b-2-3p and by destabilizing primary miR-125b-2, resulted in the upregulating expression of Slug, which is a direct target of miR-125b-2-3p. Slug also inhibited the expression of E-cadherin but N-cadherin, vimentin, and β-catenin had no obvious change. The expression of AC007271.3 was promoted by the canonical nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway. Taken together, these results suggested that the classical NF-κB pathway-activated AC007271.3 regulates EMT by miR-125b-2-3p/Slug/E-cadherin axis to promote the development of OSCC, implicating it as a novel potential target for therapeutic intervention in this disease.


Author(s):  
Zhirong Li ◽  
Xuebo Qin ◽  
Wei Bian ◽  
Yishuai Li ◽  
Baoen Shan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In recent years, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are of great importance in development of different types of tumors, while the function of lncRNA ZFAS1 is rarely discussed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Therefore, we performed this study to explore the expression of exosomal lncRNA ZFAS1 and its molecular mechanism on ESCC progression. Methods Expression of ZFAS1 and miR-124 in ESCC tissues was detected. LncRNA ZFAS1 was silenced to detect its function in the biological functions of ESCC cells. A stable donor and recipient culture model was established. Eca109 cells transfected with overexpressed and low expressed ZFAS1 plasmid and miR-124 inhibitor labeled by Cy3 were the donor cells, and then co-cultured with recipient cells to observe the transmission of Cy3-ZFAS1 between donor cells and recipient cells. The changes of cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration in recipient cells were detected. The in vivo experiment was conducted for verifying the in vitro results. Results LncRNA ZFAS1 was upregulated and miR-124 was down-regulated in ESCC tissues. Silencing of ZFAS1 contributed to suppressed proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor growth in vitro and induced apoptosis of ESCC cells. LncRNA ZFAS1 was considered to be a competing endogenous RNA to regulate miR-124, thereby elevating STAT3 expression. Exosomes shuttled ZFAS1 stimulated proliferation, migration and invasion of ESCC cells and restricted their apoptosis with increased STAT3 and declined miR-124. Furthermore, in vivo experiment suggested that elevated ZFAS1-exo promoted tumor growth in nude mice. Conclusion This study highlights that exosomal ZFAS1 promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of ESCC cells and inhibits their apoptosis by upregulating STAT3 and downregulating miR-124, thereby resulting in the development of tumorigenesis of ESCC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Qi ◽  
Wengguang Xu ◽  
Junqi Xie ◽  
Yufeng Wang ◽  
Shengwei Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Resistance towards chemotherapy is a common complication in treatment of oral cancers, which leads to treatment failure and poor outcome. In recent years, a growing body of evidence has shown that tumour hypoxia significantly contributes to chemoresistance. Metformin, a widely used oral hypoglycaemic drug, can reportedly potentiate the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs in various cancers; however, the underlying mechanisms are intricate and have not been fully understood. In this study, we explored the role of metformin in chemosensitivity of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells (OSCC) to cisplatin both in vitro and in vivo, and attempted to elucidate its possible underlying mechanisms. Encouragingly, we found that metformin synergistically enhanced cisplatin cytotoxicity and reversed the chemoresistance to certain extent. This mechanism could likely be related with inhibition of the NF-κB/HIF-1α signal axis and lead to the downregulation of hypoxia-regulated genes products. Therefore, metformin could serve as a chemosensitiser for cisplatin-based regimens for OSCC, thereby providing a theoretical basis for future use in the treatment of oral cancers.


Author(s):  
Wei Cui ◽  
Tingting Fang ◽  
Zhaoheng Duan ◽  
Dongfang Xiang ◽  
Yanxia Wang ◽  
...  

Platinum-based regimens have been routinely used in the clinical treatment of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, administration of these drugs is frequently accompanied by drug resistance. Revealing the underlying mechanisms of the drug resistance and developing agents that enhance the sensitivity to platinum may provide new therapeutic strategies for the patients. In the present study, we found that the poor outcome of ESCC patients receiving platinum-based regimens was associated with co-expression of Shh and Sox2. The sensitivity of ESCC cell lines to cisplatin was related to their activity of Shh signaling. Manipulating of Shh expression markedly changed the sensitivity of ESCC cells to platinum. Continuous treatment with cisplatin resulted in the activation of Shh signaling and enhanced cancer stem cell-like phenotypes in ESCC cells. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a classic antimalarial drug, was identified as a novel inhibitor of Shh pathway. Treatment with DHA attenuated the cisplatin-induced activation of the Shh pathway in ESCC cells and synergized the inhibitory effect of cisplatin on proliferation, sphere and colony formation of ALDH-positive ESCC cells in vitro and growth of ESCC cell-derived xenograft tumors in vivo. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the Shh pathway is an important player in cisplatin-resistant ESCC and DHA acts as a promising therapeutic agent to sensitize ESCC to cisplatin treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Zhu ◽  
Xinhuan Chen ◽  
Yanyan Zhu ◽  
Jiace Qin ◽  
Tingting Niu ◽  
...  

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a sesquiterpene lactone with endoperoxide bridge, is one of the derivatives of artemisinin. In addition to having good antimalarial properties, DHA exhibits anticancer effects including against malignant solid tumors. However, the mechanism by which DHA inhibits the progression of esophageal cancer, especially esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), is unclear. In this study, DHA was found to inhibit the proliferation of ESCC, and the underlying molecular mechanisms were explored. DHA inhibited ESCC cells proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that DHA significantly blocked cell cycle in the G1 phase. The results of human phospho-kinase array revealed that DHA downregulated the levels of p70S6KT389 and p70S6KT421/S424. Furthermore, the levels of mTORS2448, p70S6KT389, p70S6KT421/S424 and RPS6S235/S236 were decreased after DHA treatment in KYSE30 and KYSE150 cells. We then explored the proteins targeted by DHA to inhibit the mTOR-p70S6K-RPS6 pathway. Results of the in vitro kinase assay revealed that DHA significantly inhibited phosphorylation of mTORS2448 by binding to AKT1 and p70S6K kinases. In vivo, DHA inhibited the tumor growth of ESCC patient-derived xenografts and weakened p-mTOR, p-p70S6K, and p-RPS6 expression in tumor tissues. Altogether, our results indicate that DHA has antiproliferative effects in ESCC cells and can downregulate mTOR cascade pathway partially by binding to AKT1 and p70S6K. Thus, DHA has considerable potential for the prevention or treatment of ESCC.


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