Downregulation of CCKBR Expression Inhibits the Proliferation of Gastric Cancer Cells, Revealing a Potential Target for Immunotoxin Therapy

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Li ◽  
Jiang Chang ◽  
Honglin Ren ◽  
Defeng Song ◽  
Jian Guo ◽  
...  

Background Increased CCKBR expression density or frequency has been reported in many neoplasms. Objective We aimed to investigate whether CCKBR drives the growth of gastric cancer (GC) and its potential as a therapeutic target of immunotoxins. Methods A lentiviral interference system was used to generate CCKBR-knockdown gastric cancer cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 and clonogenic assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation. Wound-healing and cell invasion assays were performed to evaluate cell mobility. Cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Tumor growth in vivo was investigated using a heterologous tumor transplantation model in nude mice. In addition, we generated the immunotoxin FQ17P and evaluated the combining capacity and tumor cytotoxicity of FQ17P in vitro. Results Stable downregulation of CCKBR expression resulted in reduced proliferation, migration and invasion of BGC-823 and SGC-7901 cells. The impact of CCKBR on gastric cancer cells was further verified through CCKBR overexpression studies. Downregulation of CCKBR expression also inhibited the growth of gastric tumors in vivo. Furthermore, FQ17P killed CCKBR-overexpressing GC cells by specifically binding to CCKBR on the tumor cell surface. Conclusion The CCKBR protein drives the growth, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells, and it might be a promising target for immunotoxin therapy based on its aberrant expression, functional binding interactions with gastrin, and subsequent internalization.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-Ting Wu ◽  
Jun Lu ◽  
Pei-Qiu Zheng ◽  
Shen-Lin Liu ◽  
Jian Wu ◽  
...  

Background.Yiqi Huayu Jiedu Decoction (YHJD) can obviously improve the quality of life of those patients with gastric cancer and prolong their survival.Methods. In vitro experiments, we observe YHJD’s effect on the cells’ proliferation by MTT assay. Cell adhesion assay, wound-healing assay, and Transwell invasion assay serve to detect its influence on cells’ adhesion, migration, and invasion, respectively. Inhibitor (10 μM/L of SB431542) and activator (10 ng/mL of TGF-β) of TGF-β/Smad pathway were used to estimate whether YHJD’s impact on the biological behavior of gastric cancer cells was related to TGF-β/Smad pathway. In in vivo studies, YHJD was administered to the nude mice transplanted with gastric cancer to observe its effect on the tumor. Western blotting and immunohistochemical assay were used to test relevant cytokines of TGF-β/Smad pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in MGC-803 cells and the tumor bearing nude mice.Results.YHJD inhibited proliferation, adhesion, migration, and invasion of MGC-803 gastric cancer cells in vitro. In in vivo studies, YHJD reduced the volume of the transplanted tumors. It also enhanced the expression of E-cadherin and decreased the levels of N-cadherin, TGF-β, Snail, and Slug in both MGC-803 cells and the transplanted tumor by western blot assay. The immunohistochemical assay revealed that YHJD raised E-cadherin in the tumors of the mice; on the contrary, the expression of N-cadherin, Twist, vimentin, TGF-βR I, p-Smad2, p-Smad3, Snail, and Slug reduced.Conclusion. YHJD can effectively inhibit the invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells. The mechanism may be related to TGF-β/Smad pathway.


Oncogene ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Kang ◽  
Weilin Li ◽  
Weixin Liu ◽  
Han Liang ◽  
Jingyu Deng ◽  
...  

AbstractPeritoneal metastasis is a common form of metastasis among advanced gastric cancer patients. In this study, we reported the identification of LIM domain kinase 1 (LIMK1) as a promoter of gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis, and its potential to be a therapeutic target of dabrafenib (DAB). Using transcriptomic sequencing of paired gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis, primary tumors, and normal gastric tissues, we first unveiled that LIMK1 is selectively up-regulated in metastatic tumors. Increased LIMK1 in gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis was validated by immunohistochemistry analysis of an independent patient cohort. In vitro functional studies demonstrated that LIMK1 knockout or knockdown significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells. LIMK1 knockout also abrogated peritoneal and liver metastases of gastric cancer cells in nude mice in vivo. Dabrafenib, a small molecule targeting LIMK1, was found to decrease cell migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells in vitro and abolish peritoneal and liver metastasis formation in vivo. Mechanistically, either LIMK1 knockout or Dabrafenib inhibited LIMK1 expression and phosphorylation of its downstream target cofilin. Taken together, our results demonstrated that LIMK1 functions as a metastasis promoter in gastric cancer by inhibiting LIMK1-p-cofilin and that Dabrafenib has the potential to serve as a novel treatment for gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Shi ◽  
Chuanwen Zhou ◽  
Rui Xie ◽  
Miaomiao Li ◽  
Peng Shen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to play an important role in tumor progression in various cancer types, including gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of circCNIH4 (hsa_circ_0000190) in gastric cancer and the underlying mechanism. Methods The expression levels of circCNIH4 and Wnt antagonist genes were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The protein levels of β-catenin, Ki67, Dickkopf 2 (DKK2) and Frizzled related protein (FRZB) were measured by western blot. Ectopic overexpression or knockdown of circCNIH4, proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), flow cytometry and transwell assay in vitro, and in vivo experiment, were employed to assess the role of circCNIH4 in gastric cancer. Results CircCNIH4 was downregulated in gastric cancer tissues and cells. Overexpression of circCNIH4 inhibited gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis by inactivating Wnt/β-catenin pathway in vitro. CircCNIH4 induced the expression of DKK2 and FRZB in gastric cancer cells. Moreover, silencing of DKK2 or FRZB reversed circCNIH4 overexpression-mediated effects on gastric cancer cells. Additionally, circCNIH4 suppressed tumor growth via regulating DKK2 and FRZB expression in gastric cancer in vivo. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that circCNIH4 played a tumor-inhibiting role through upregulating DKK2 and FRZB expression and suppressing Wnt/β-catenin pathway in gastric cancer, which might provide a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawei Rong ◽  
Chen Lu ◽  
Betty Zhang ◽  
Kai Fu ◽  
Shuli Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with a loop structure, but its functions remain largely unknown. Growing evidence has revealed that circRNAs play a striking role as functional RNAs in the progression of malignant disease. However, the precise role of circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Methods CircRNAs were determined by human circRNA array analysis and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase reaction. Luciferase reporter, RNA pull down, and fluorescence in situ hybridization assays were employed to test the interaction between circPSMC3 and miR-296-5p. Ectopic over-expression and siRNA-mediated knockdown of circPSMC3, proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, and in vivo experiment of metastasis were used to evaluate the function of circPSMC3. Results CircPSMC3 rather than liner PSMC3 mRNA was down-regulated in GC tissues, corresponding plasmas from GC patients as well as GC cell lines compared to normal controls. Lower circPSMC3 expression in GC patients was correlated with higher TNM stage and shorter overall survival. Over-expression of circPSMC3 and miR-296-5p inhibitor could inhibit the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells in vivo and vitro whereas co-transfection of circPSMC3 and miRNA-296-5p could counteract this effect. Importantly, we demonstrated that circPSMC3 could act as a sponge of miR-296-5p to regulate the expression of Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog (PTEN), and further suppress the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells. Conclusion Our study reveals that circPSMC3 can serve as a novel potential circulating biomarker for detection of GC. CircPSMC3 participates in progression of gastric cancer by sponging miRNA-296-5p with PTEN, providing a new insight into the treatment of gastric cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
En Xu ◽  
Hao Zhu ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Ji Miao ◽  
Shangce Du ◽  
...  

: Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. In the present study, we investigated the potential activity of OSI-027, a potent and selective mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1/2 (mTOR1/2) dual inhibitor, alone or in combination with oxaliplatin against gastric cancer cells in vitro. Cell counting kit-8 assays and EdU staining were performed to examine the proliferation of cancer cells. Cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect the elements of the mTOR pathway and Pgp in gastric cancer cell lines. OSI-027 inhibited the proliferation of MKN-45 and AGS cells by arresting the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase. At the molecular level, OSI-027 simultaneously blocked mTORC1 and mTORC2 activation, and resulted in the downregulation of phosphor-Akt, phpspho-p70S6k, phosphor-4EBP1, cyclin D1, and cyclin-dependent kinase4 (CDK4). Additionally, OSI-027 also downregulated P-gp, which enhanced oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis and suppressed multidrug resistance. Moreover, OSI-027 exhibited synergistic cytotoxic effects with oxaliplatin in vitro, while a P-gp siRNA knockdown significantly inhibited the synergistic effect. In summary, our results suggest that dual mTORC1/mTORC2 inhibitors (e.g., OSI-027) should be further investigated as a potential valuable treatment for gastric cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
An Yang ◽  
Xin Liu ◽  
Ping Liu ◽  
Yunzhang Feng ◽  
Hongbo Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) is aberrantly expressed in multiple cancers and has been verified as an oncogene. However, the underlying mechanism of UCA1 in the development of gastric cancer is not fully understood. In the present study, we aimed to identify how UCA1 promotes gastric cancer development. Methods The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) data were used to analyze UCA1 and myosin VI (MYO6) expression in gastric cancer. Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) were performed to test the expression level of the UCA1/miR-145/MYO6 axis in gastric cancer cell lines and tissues. The roles of the UCA1/miR-145/MYO6 axis in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo were investigated by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, siRNAs, immunohistochemistry, and a mouse xenograft model. The targeted relationship among UCA1, miR-145, and MYO6 was predicted using LncBase Predicted v.2 and TargetScan online software, and then verified by luciferase activity assay and RNA immunoprecipitation. Results UCA1 expression was higher but miR-145 expression was lower in gastric cancer cell lines or tissues, compared to the adjacent normal cell line or normal tissues. Function analysis verified that UCA1 promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis in the gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, UCA1 could bind directly to miR-145, and MYO6 was found to be a downstream target gene of miR-145. miR-145 mimics or MYO6 siRNAs could partly reverse the effect of UCA1 on gastric cancer cells. Conclusions UCA1 accelerated cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis through sponging miR-145 to upregulate MYO6 expression in gastric cancer, indicating that the UCA1/miR-145/MYO6 axis may serve as a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi-Jian Deng ◽  
Dong-Wen Chen ◽  
Xi-Jie Chen ◽  
Jia-Ming Fang ◽  
Liang Xv ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common malignant disease. Both CDK10 and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to exert biological functions in multiple cancers. However, it is still unclear whether CDK10 represses tumor progression in gastric cancer by reducing potential targeting lncRNAs.Methods: The functions of CDK10 and lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 in proliferation, invasion and migration were assessed by MTS assays, colony formation assays, cell cycle and apoptosis assays, Transwell assays, wound healing assays and animal experiments. We used high-throughput sequencing to confirm the existence of lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 and quantitative real-time PCR was used to evaluate lncRNA expression. Then, with RNA-seq sequencing as well as GO function and KEGG enrichment analysis, we identified the signaling pathways in which lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 was involved in gastric cancer. Finally, western blotting was used to identify the genes regulated by lncRNA-C5ORF42-5.Results: Our results showed that CDK10 is expressed at relatively low levels in gastric cancer cell lines and inhibits the progression of gastric cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Next, based on high-throughput sequencing, we identified a novel lncRNA, lncRNA-C5ORF42-5, in the stable CDK10-overexpressing cell line compared with the CDK-knockdown cell line and their controls. Additionally, we confirmed that lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 acts as an oncogene to promote metastasis in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo. We then ascertained that lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 is a major contributor to the function of CDK10 in gastric cancer metastasis by upregulating lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 to reverse the effects of CDK10 overexpression. Finally, we explored the mechanism by which lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 overexpression affects gastric cancer cells to elucidate whether lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 may increase the activity of the SMAD pathway of BMP signaling and promote the expression of EMT-related proteins, such as E-cadherin. Additionally, overexpression of lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 affected the phosphorylation levels of AKT and ERK.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that CDK10 overexpression represses gastric cancer tumor progression by reducing lncRNA-C5ORF42-5 and hindering activation of the related proteins in metastatic signaling pathways, which provides new insight into developing effective therapeutic strategies in the treatment of metastatic gastric cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shenshuo Gao ◽  
Zhikai Zhang ◽  
Xubin Wang ◽  
Yan Ma ◽  
Chensheng Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies, and more and more evdiences show that the pathogenesis is regulated by various miRNAs.In this study, we investigated the role of miR-875 in GC. Methods:The expression of miR-875-5p was detected in human GC specimens and cell lines by miRNA RT-PCR. The effect of miR-875-5p on GC proliferation was determined by CCK-8 proliferation assay and EDU assay. Migration and invasion were examined by transwell migration and invasion assay and wound healing assay. The interaction between miR-875-5p and its target gene USF2 was verified by a dual luciferase reporter assay. The effects of miR-875-5p in vivo were studied in xenograft nude mice models.Related proteins were detected by Western blot.Results:The results showed that miR-875-5p inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells in vitro, and inhibited tumorigenesis in vivo. USF2 proved to be a direct target of miR-875-5p. Knockdown of USF2 partially counteracts the effects of miR-875-5p inhibitors.Overexpression of miR-875-5p can inhibit proliferation, migration, and invasion through the TGF-β signaling pathway by down-regulation of USF2 in GC, providing a new research direction for the diagnosis and targeted therapy of GC.Conclusions: MiR-875-5pcan inhibited the progression of GC by directly targeting USF2 and negatively regulating TGF-β signaling pathway.In the future, miR-875-5p is expected to be used as a potential therapeutic target for GC therapy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Jun Tian ◽  
Hong-Zhi Liu ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
Dian-Zhong Geng ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
...  

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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