scholarly journals Mediator Complex Subunit 19 Promotes the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating the AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Zhang ◽  
Peifang Qin ◽  
Xingfeng Xu ◽  
Mao Li ◽  
Haitao Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Mediator Complex ◽  
Clinical Prognosis ◽  
Immune Infiltration ◽  
Downstream Effectors ◽  
A Subunit

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, the pathogenesis of which remains unclear. Mediator complex subunit 19 (MED19), a subunit of the Mediator complex, is a multi-protein co-activator necessary for DNA transcription factors to induce RNA polymerase II transcription. In the current study, we aimed to study the role of MED19 in HCC and elucidate its mechanism.MethodsMED19 expression in HCC tissues was determined. The relationship between MED19 and the clinical prognosis was explored. The influence of MED19 on HCC cell viability, migration, invasion, and apoptosis was studied. The expression of AKT/mTOR pathway genes and proteins was detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. The correlation between MED19 and immune infiltration was investigated.ResultsMED19 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with tumor-adjacent tissues, and was associated with a poor prognosis. Furthermore, high MED19 expression was correlated with race, gender, etc. Knockdown of MED19 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and promoted apoptosis. Knockdown of MED19 decreased p-AKT and p-mTOR protein expression. Additionally, the downstream effectors of the AKT/mTOR pathway, p70S6K1 and 4EBP1, were affected by MED19. Notably, MED19 expression was positively correlated with the infiltration levels of B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, macrophages, etc.ConclusionMED19 is significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and cells. MED19 may promote the progression of HCC in vitro and may be related to immune infiltration. Together, our data show that MED19 could be considered as a new possible biomarker as well as a novel therapeutic target for HCC.

scholarly journals TOR signaling modulates Cdk8-dependent GAL gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Hawe ◽  
Konstantin Mestnikov ◽  
Riley Horvath ◽  
Mariam Eji-Lasisi ◽  
Cindy Lam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Nuclear Localization ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Mediator Complex ◽  
Tor Signaling ◽  
A Subunit ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractCdk8 of the RNA Polymerase II mediator complex regulates genes by phosphorylating sequence specific transcription factors. Despite conserved importance for eukaryotic transcriptional regulation, the signals regulating Cdk8 are unknown. Full induction of the yeast GAL genes requires phosphorylation of Gal4 by Cdk8, and we exploited this requirement for growth of gal3 yeast on galactose to identify mutants affecting Cdk8 activity. Several mutants from the screen produced defects in TOR signaling. A mutant designated gal four throttle (gft) 1, gft1, was identified as an allele of hom3, encoding aspartokinase. Defects in gft1/ hom3 caused hypersensitivity to rapamycin, and constitutive nuclear localization of Gat1. Furthermore, mutations of tor1 or tco89, encoding TORC1 components, also prevented GAL expression in gal3 yeast, and tco89 was determined to be allelic to gft7. Disruption of cdc55, encoding a subunit of PP2A regulated by TOR signaling, suppressed the effect of gft1/ hom3, gft7/ tco89, and tor1 mutations on GAL expression in gal3 yeast, but not of cdk8/ srb10 disruptions or Gal4 S699A mutation. Mutations of gft1/ hom3 and tor1 did not affect kinase activity of Cdk8 in vitro, but caused loss of Gal4 phosphorylation in vivo. These observations demonstrate that TOR signaling regulates GAL induction through the activity of PP2A/ Cdc55, and are consistent with the contention that Cdk8-dependent phosphorylation of Gal4 S699 is opposed by PP2A/ Cdc55 dephosphorylation. These results provide insight into how induction of transcription by a specific inducer can be modulated by global nutritional signals through regulation of Cdk8-dependent phosphorylation.

scholarly journals B4GALT5 High Expression Associated With Poor Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Han ◽  
Zhe Li ◽  
Qi Wu ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Zhiqiang Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Normal Tissue ◽  
Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Poor Overall Survival ◽  
Clinical Prognosis ◽  
Immune Infiltration

Abstract Background: B4GALT5 is postulated to be an important protein in sugar metabolism that catalyzes the synthesis of lactosylceramide (LacCer). However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown.Method: We characterized the expression of B4GALT5 in HCC tissue compared to normal tissue, and explored its function of B4GALT5 in HCC by enrichment analysis based on its co-expressed gene set. Next, we checked whether B4GALT5 expression is correlated to immune infiltration level and clinical prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Finally, we verified the expression of B4GALT5 using clinical samples evaluated by RT-PCR, and conducted in vitro experiments with B4GALT5-knockdown HCC cells to investigate the function of B4GALT5 in the HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion.Results: We found B4GALT5 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly high in HCC tissue compared to normal tissue. The enrichment analysis of the gene sets that co-expressed with B4GALT5 showed specificity in HCC-related pathways and functions. Also, the expression pattern of B4GALT5 was significantly related to the immune infiltration level, especially CD4+ T cell and macrophage cells. B4GALT5 higher mRNA expression was associated with poor overall survival (OS) in HCC patients. Furthermore, In vitro experiments showed that depletion of B4GALT5 significantly inhibited HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. This study revealed the function and its mediated pathways of B4GALT5 in HCC, indicating that B4GALT5 may serve as a prognostic biomarker of HCC.

scholarly journals Identification of Prognostic Biomarkers and Correlation with Immune Infiltrates in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on a Competing Endogenous RNA Network

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhangya Pu ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhu ◽  
Xiaofang Wang ◽  
Yun Zhong ◽  
Fang Peng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Survival Analysis ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Prognostic Biomarkers ◽  
Hub Genes ◽  
Immune Infiltration ◽  
Cerna Network

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Recently, competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) have revealed a significant role in the progression of HCC. Herein, we aimed to construct a ceRNA network to identify potential biomarkers and illustrate its correlation with immune infiltration in HCC. Methods: RNA sequencing data and clinical traits of HCC patients were downloaded from TCGA. The limma R package was used to identify differentially expressed (DE) RNAs. The predicted prognostic model was established using univariate and multivariate Cox regression. A K-M curve and GEPIA website were utilized for survival analysis. Functional annotation was determined using Enrichr and Reactome. Protein-to-protein network analysis was implemented using SRTNG and Cytoscape. Hub gene expression was validated by Oncomine and the Hunan Protein Atlas database. Immune infiltration was analyzed by TIMMER, and Drugbank was exploited to identify bioactive compounds. Results: The predicted model that was established revealed significant efficacy with 3- and 5-years of the area under ROC at 0.804 and 0.744, respectively. Eleven DEmiRNAs were screened out by a K-M survival analysis. Then, we constructed a ceRNA network, including 56 DElncRNAs, 6 DEmiRNAs, and 28 DEmRNAs. The 28 DEmRNAs were enriched in cancer-related pathways, for example, the TNF signaling pathway. Moreover, six hub genes, CEP55, DEPDC1, KIF23, CLSPN, MYBL2, and RACGAP1, were all overexpressed in HCC tissues and independently correlated with survival rate. Furthermore, expression of hub genes was related to immune cell infiltration in HCC, including B cells, CD8 + T cells, CD4 + T cells, monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Conclusions: The findings from this study demonstrate that CEP55, DEPDC1, KIF23, CLSPN, MYBL2, and RACGAP1 are closely associated with prognosis and immune infiltration, representing potential therapeutic targets or prognostic biomarkers in HCC.

scholarly journals CircETFA upregulates CCL5 by sponging miR-612 and recruiting EIF4A3 to promote hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Lu ◽  
Dawei Rong ◽  
Bingqing Hui ◽  
Xuezhi He ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Circular Rnas ◽  
Downstream Effectors ◽  
Chemokine Ligand ◽  
Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase ◽  
Hcc Cells

AbstractAs a kind of malignant tumors, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been studied continuously, but the mechanisms are not well understood. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are widespread in eukaryotes and play an important role in the growth of organisms and in the occurrence of diseases. The role of circRNAs in HCC remains to be further explored. In this study, CircRNA microarray analysis was used to assess the plasma from HCC patients and healthy controls and to identify circRNAs involved in HCC tumorigenesis. CircETFA was overexpressed in HCC tissues, plasma, and cells. Clinicopathological data revealed that abnormally high circETFA expression was associated with a poor prognosis. In function, circETFA promotes the malignant phenotype of HCC cells in vivo and in vitro, inhibits cycle arrest, and decreases the proportion of apoptotic cells. In mechanism, it can upregulate C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) in HCC cells, thereby regulating the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway and other key downstream effectors (e.g., FoxO6). Furthermore, circETFA prolonged the half-life of CCL5 mRNA by recruiting the eukaryotic initiation factor 4A3 (EIF4A3) and acted as a sponge of hsa-miR-612 to suppress the silencing effect of hsa-miR-612 on CCL5. In conclusion, CircETFA can increase the expression of CCL5 to promote the progression of HCC by sponging hsa-mir-612 and recruiting EIF4A3, and is promising as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target.

109 Dominant-negative TGFβ receptor 2 enhances GPC3-targeting CAR-T cell efficacy against hepatocellular carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A121-A121
Author(s):  
Nina Chu ◽  
Michael Overstreet ◽  
Ryan Gilbreth ◽  
Lori Clarke ◽  
Christina Gesse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T Cell ◽  
Car T

BackgroundChimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are engineered synthetic receptors that reprogram T cell specificity and function against a given antigen. Autologous CAR-T cell therapy has demonstrated potent efficacy against various hematological malignancies, but has yielded limited success against solid cancers. MEDI7028 is a CAR that targets oncofetal antigen glypican-3 (GPC3), which is expressed in 70–90% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but not in normal liver tissue. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) secretion is increased in advanced HCC, which creates an immunosuppressive milieu and facilitates cancer progression and poor prognosis. We tested whether the anti-tumor efficacy of a GPC3 CAR-T can be enhanced with the co-expression of dominant-negative TGFβRII (TGFβRIIDN).MethodsPrimary human T cells were lentivirally transduced to express GPC3 CAR both with and without TGFβRIIDN. Western blot and flow cytometry were performed on purified CAR-T cells to assess modulation of pathways and immune phenotypes driven by TGFβ in vitro. A xenograft model of human HCC cell line overexpressing TGFβ in immunodeficient mice was used to investigate the in vivo efficacy of TGFβRIIDN armored and unarmored CAR-T. Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte populations were analyzed by flow cytometry while serum cytokine levels were quantified with ELISA.ResultsArmoring GPC3 CAR-T with TGFβRIIDN nearly abolished phospho-SMAD2/3 expression upon exposure to recombinant human TGFβ in vitro, indicating that the TGFβ signaling axis was successfully blocked by expression of the dominant-negative receptor. Additionally, expression of TGFβRIIDN suppressed TGFβ-driven CD103 upregulation, further demonstrating attenuation of the pathway by this armoring strategy. In vivo, the TGFβRIIDN armored CAR-T achieved superior tumor regression and delayed tumor regrowth compared to the unarmored CAR-T. The armored CAR-T cells infiltrated HCC tumors more abundantly than their unarmored counterparts, and were phenotypically less exhausted and less differentiated. In line with these observations, we detected significantly more interferon gamma (IFNγ) at peak response and decreased alpha-fetoprotein in the serum of mice treated with armored cells compared to mice receiving unarmored CAR-T, demonstrating in vivo functional superiority of TGFβRIIDN armored CAR-T therapy.ConclusionsArmoring GPC3 CAR-T with TGFβRIIDN abrogates the signaling of TGFβ in vitro and enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of GPC3 CAR-T against TGFβ-expressing HCC tumors in vivo, proving TGFβRIIDN to be an effective armoring strategy against TGFβ-expressing solid malignancies in preclinical models.Ethics ApprovalThe study was approved by AstraZeneca’s Ethics Board and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

scholarly journals IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION OF 2-CHLOROE THYLN ITROSOUREA DERIVATIVES AS ANTITUMOR AGENTS

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
A Sen ◽  
K K Goswami ◽  
A Mallick ◽  
A K Saxena ◽  
U Sanyal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Antitumor Agents ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Optimum Dose ◽  
Mouse Tumor ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
In Vivo Evaluation ◽  
Liver And Kidney

Aim: To evaluate potential of Naphthal-NU, Napro-NU and 5-Nitro-naphthal-NU, 2-chloroethylnitrosourea compounds with substituted naphthalimide in the pre-clinical studies. Materials and Methods: In vitro cytotoxicity of three nitrosoureas was determined in human and mouse tumor cell lines by MTT assays. In vivo anti-tumor potential was evaluated in Sarcoma-180 (S-180) and Ehrlich’s carcinoma (EC) solid tumors. Apoptosis in S-180 cells was analyzed by using Annexin V-Propidium Iodide (PI). Histological analysis of liver and kidney was performed at optimum dose (50 mg/kg). Expression status of CD4+, CD8+ and CD25+ cells in treated mouse were also examined. Results: Significant tumor growth retardation by the compounds was noted in early and advanced disease groups, as the life span of drug treated mice increased considerably. Drug induced killing was observed by induction of apoptosis. Naphthal-NU and 5-Nitro-naphthal-NU were effective to normalize the tumor induced structural abnormalities of liver and kidney. The compounds have no immunotoxic effect on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and down regulate CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. Conclusion: Overall data holds promise for the antitumor activity with lower toxicity of the compounds that can be utilized for the treatment of human malignant tumors.

scholarly journals CDCA3 Is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker Associated with Immune Infiltration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Zhihuai Wang ◽  
Shuai Chen ◽  
Gaochao Wang ◽  
Sun Li ◽  
Xihu Qin
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
In Silico Analysis ◽  
Gene Markers ◽  
Free Survival ◽  
Immune Infiltration ◽  
Normal Tissues ◽  
Tumor Tissues

Cell division cycle-associated protein-3 (CDCA3) contributes to the regulation of the cell cycle. CDCA3 plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of various cancers; however, the association between CDCA3 expression, prognosis of patients, and immune infiltration in the tumor microenvironment is still unknown. Here, we demonstrated that CDCA3 was differentially expressed between the tumor tissues and corresponding normal tissues using in silico analysis in the ONCOMINE and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) databases. We analyzed the relationship between the expression of CDCA3 and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using the Kaplan–Meier plotter database and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). Furthermore, we determined the prognostic value of CDCA3 expression using univariate and multivariate analyses. We observed that CDCA3 expression closely correlated with immune infiltration and gene markers of infiltrating immune cells in the TIMER database. CDCA3 was highly expressed in the tumor tissues than in the adjacent normal tissues in various cancers, including HCC. Increased expression of CDCA3 was accompanied by poorer overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS). The correlation between CDCA3 expression and OS and disease-free survival (DFS) was also studied using GEPIA. CDCA3 expression was associated with the levels of immune cell infiltration and was positively correlated with tumor purity. Moreover, CDCA3 expression was associated with gene markers such as PD-1, CTLA4, LAG3, and TIM-3 from exhausted T cells, CD3D, CD3E, and CD2 from T cells, and TGFB1 and CCR8 located on the surface of Tregs. Thus, we demonstrated that CDCA3 may be a potential target and biomarker for the management and diagnosis of HCC.

scholarly journals COL1A1 is a prognostic biomarker and correlated with immune infiltrates in lung cancer

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11145
Author(s):  
Qishun Geng ◽  
Zhibo Shen ◽  
Lifeng Li ◽  
Jie Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Dendritic Cell ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Functional Enrichment ◽  
Expression Level ◽  
Normal Lung ◽  
Hub Genes ◽  
Clinical Prognosis

Objective Lung cancer (LC) is one of the top ten malignant tumors and the first leading cause of cancer-related death among both men and women worldwide. It is imperative to identify immune-related biomarkers for early LC diagnosis and treatment. Methods Three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were selected to acquire the differentially expressed genes(DEGs) between LC and normal lung samples through GEO2R tools of NCBI. To identify hub genes, the DEGs were performed functional enrichment analysis, the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network construction, and Lasso regression. Then, a nomogram was constructed to predict the prognosis of patients with carcinoma based on hub genes. We further evaluated the influence of COL1A1 on clinical prognosis using GSE3141, GSE31210, and TCGA database. Also, the correlations between COL1A1 and cancer immune infiltrates and the B7-CD28 family was investigated via TIMER and GEPIA. Further analysis of immunohistochemistry shown that the COL1A1 expression level is positively correlated with CD276 expression level. Results By difference analysis, there were 340 DEGs between LC and normal lung samples. Then, we picked out seven hub genes, which were identified as components of the risk signature to divide LC into low and high-risk groups. Among them, the expression of COL1A1 is highly correlated with overall survival(OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (p < 0.05). Importantly, there is a moderate to strong positive relationships between COL1A1 expression level and infiltration level of CD4+ T cells, Macrophage, Neutrophil, and Dendritic cell, as well as CD276 expression level. Conclusion These findings suggest that COL1A1 is correlated with prognosis and immune infiltrating levels, including CD4+ T cells, Macrophage, Neutrophil, and Dendritic cell, as well as CD276 expression level, indicating COL1A1 can be a potential immunity-related biomarker and therapeutic target in LC.

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