scholarly journals The Impact of miRNA in Colorectal Cancer Progression and Its Liver Metastases

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ovidiu Balacescu ◽  
Daniel Sur ◽  
Calin Cainap ◽  
Simona Visan ◽  
Daniel Cruceriu ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies with a high incidence and mortality rate. An essential challenge in colorectal cancer management is to identify new prognostic factors that could better estimate the evolution and treatment responses of this disease. Considering their role in cancer development, progression and metastasis, miRNAs have become an important class of molecules suitable for cancer biomarkers discovery. We performed a systematic search of studies investigating the role of miRNAs in colorectal progression and liver metastasis published until October 2018. In this review, we present up-to-date information regarding the specific microRNAs involved in CRC development, considering their roles in alteration of Wnt/βcatenin, EGFR, TGFβ and TP53 signaling pathways. We also emphasize the role of miRNAs in controlling the epithelial–mesenchymal transition of CRC cells, a process responsible for liver metastasis in a circulating tumor cell-dependent manner. Furthermore, we discuss the role of miRNAs transported by CRC-derived exosomes in mediating liver metastases, by preparing the secondary pre-metastatic niche and in inducing liver carcinogenesis in a Dicer-dependent manner.

Author(s):  
Ovidiu Balacescu ◽  
Daniel Sur ◽  
Calin Cainap ◽  
Simona Visan ◽  
Daniel Cruceriu ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies with a high incidence and mortality. An essential challenge in colorectal cancer management is to identify new prognostic factors that could better estimate the evolution and treatment responses of this disease. Considering their role in cancer development, progression and metastasis, miRNAs have become an important class of molecules suitable for cancer biomarkers discovery. We performed a systematic search of studies investigating the role of miRNAs in colorectal progression and liver metastasis, published until October 2018. In this review, we present up-to-date information regarding the specific microRNAs involved in CRC development, considering their roles in alteration of Wnt/βcatenin, EGFR, TGFβ and TP53 signaling pathways. We also emphasize the role of miRNAs in controlling the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of CRC cells, a process responsible for liver metastasis in a circulating tumor cell-dependent manner. Furthermore, we discuss the role of miRNAs transported by CRC-derived exosomes in mediating liver metastases, by preparing the secondary pre-metastatic niche and in inducing liver carcinogenesis in a Dicer-dependent manner.  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heyang Xu ◽  
Qiusheng Lan ◽  
Yongliang Huang ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Yujie Zeng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Liver metastasis is the most common cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 induces CRC metastasis by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which promotes CRC cell liver metastasis. Mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), the opposite of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, has been proposed as a mechanism for the establishment of metastatic neoplasms. However, the molecular mechanism of MET remains unclear. Methods: Using Immunohistochemistry, western blotting,invasion assays, real-time quantitative PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, human miRNA arrays, and xenograft mouse model, we determined the role of hepatocyte exosome-derived miR-203a-3p in CRC MET.Results: In our study, we found that miR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes increased colorectal cancer cells E-cadherin expression, inhibited Src expression, and reduced activity. In this way miR-203a-3p induced the decreased invasion rate of CRC cells.Coclusion: MiR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes plays an important role of CRC cells to colonize in liver.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Queenie Fernandes ◽  
Ishita Gupta ◽  
Semir Vranic ◽  
Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) are the most common oncoviruses, contributing to approximately 10%–15% of all malignancies. Oncoproteins of high-risk HPVs (E5 and E6/E7), as well as EBV (LMP1, LMP2A and EBNA1), play a principal role in the onset and progression of several human carcinomas, including head and neck, cervical and colorectal. Oncoproteins of high-risk HPVs and EBV can cooperate to initiate and/or enhance epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) events, which represents one of the hallmarks of cancer progression and metastasis. Although the role of these oncoviruses in several cancers is well established, their role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer is still nascent. This review presents an overview of the most recent advances related to the presence and role of high-risk HPVs and EBV in colorectal cancer, with an emphasis on their cooperation in colorectal carcinogenesis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Martinez-Useros ◽  
Nuria Garcia-Carbonero ◽  
Weiyao Li ◽  
Maria J. Fernandez-Aceñero ◽  
Ion Cristobal ◽  
...  

CSDE1 (cold shock domain containing E1) gene is located upstream of the N-RAS locus, and codes for an RNA-binding protein named Upstream of N-Ras (UNR). In cancer, CSDE1 has been shown to regulate c-Fos, c-Myc, Pten, Rac1, or Vimentin. UNR/CSDE1 has been studied in breast, melanoma, pancreatic and prostate cancer. Then, the aim of this study is to evaluate the role of CSDE1/UNR in colorectal cancer progression and maintenance of aggressive phenotype. We firstly evaluated UNR/CSDE1 expression in human colon cancer derived cell lines and patient samples. Subsequently, we performed functional experiments by UNR/CSDE1 downregulation. We also evaluated UNR/CSDE1 prognostic relevance in two independent sets of patients. Not only was UNR/CSDE1 expression higher in tumor samples compared to untransformed samples, but also in colonospheres and metastatic origin cell lines than their parental and primary cell lines, respectively. Downregulation of UNR/CSDE1 reduced cell viability and migration throughout a restrain of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and increases sensitivity to apoptosis. Interestingly, high UNR/CSDE1 expression was associated with poor prognosis and correlated positively with c-MYC expression in colorectal cancer samples and cell lines. Here, we show for the first time compelling data reporting the oncogenic role of UNR/CSDE1 in human colorectal cancer.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heyang Xu ◽  
Qiusheng Lan ◽  
Yongliang Huang ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Yujie Zeng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Liver metastasis is the most common cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 induces CRC metastasis by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which promotes CRC cell liver metastasis. Mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), the opposite of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, has been proposed as a mechanism for the establishment of metastatic neoplasms. However, the molecular mechanism of MET remains unclear. Methods Using Immunohistochemistry, western blotting, invasion assays, real-time quantitative PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, human miRNA arrays, and xenograft mouse model, we determined the role of hepatocyte exosome-derived miR-203a-3p in CRC MET. Results In our study, we found that miR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes increased colorectal cancer cells E-cadherin expression, inhibited Src expression, and reduced activity. In this way miR-203a-3p induced the decreased invasion rate of CRC cells. Coclusion MiR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes plays an important role of CRC cells to colonize in liver.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruyun Cai ◽  
Qian Lu ◽  
Da Wang

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, and liver metastasis is the leading cause of colorectal cancer-related deaths. However, the mechanism of liver metastasis in CRC hasn’t been clearly elucidated.Methods: Three datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analyzed to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were subjected to functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction analysis. Subsequently, mRNA-miRNA network was constructed and the associated DEGs and DEMs were performed for prognostic analysis. Finally, we did infiltration analysis of GAS1-associated immune cells. Results: We obtained 325 DEGs and 9 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between primary CRC and liver metastases. Enrichment analysis and protein-protein interactions (PPI) further revealed the involvement of DEGs in the formation of the inflammatory microenvironment and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during the liver metastases process in CRC. Survival analysis demonstrated that low-expressed GAS1 as well as low-expressed hsa-miR-33b-5p was a favorable prognostic indicator of overall survival. Further exploration of GAS1 revealed that its expression was interrelated with the infiltration of immune cells in tumor tissues. Conclusions: In summary, DEGs, DEMs and their interactions found in liver metastasis of CRC may provide a basis for further understanding of the mechanism of CRC metastasis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana Katoch ◽  
Debasis Nayak ◽  
Mir Mohd. Faheem ◽  
Aviral Kumar ◽  
Promod Kumar Sahu ◽  
...  

AbstractEpithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is critical for the metastatic dissemination of cancer cells and contributes to drug resistance. In this study, we observed that epithelial colorectal cancer (CRC) cells transiently exposed to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (a chemotherapeutic drug for CRC) as well as 5-FU-resistant cells (5-FU-R) develop EMT characters as evidenced by activation of Vimentin and augmented invasive properties. On the other hand, 4DPG (4′-demethyl-deoxypodophyllotoxin glucoside), a natural podophyllotoxin analog attenuates EMT and invadopodia formation abilities of HCT-116/5-FU-R and SW-620/5-FU-R cells. Treatment with 4DPG restrains Vimentin phosphorylation (Ser38) in 5-FU-R cells, along with downregulation of mesenchymal markers Twist1 and MMP-2 while augmenting the expression of epithelial markers E-cadherin and TIMP-1. Moreover, 4DPG boosts the tumor-suppressor protein, checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) via phosphorylation at Thr68 in a dose-dependent manner in 5-FU-R cells. Mechanistically, SiRNA-mediated silencing of Chk2, as well as treatment with Chk2-specific small-molecule inhibitor (PV1019), divulges that 4DPG represses Vimentin activation in a Chk2-dependent manner. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation analysis unveiled that 4DPG prevents complex formation between Vimentin and p53 resulting in the rescue of p53 and its nuclear localization in aggressive 5-FU-R cells. In addition, 4DPG confers suitable pharmacokinetic properties and strongly abrogates tumor growth, polyps formation, and lung metastasis in an orthotopic rat colorectal carcinoma model. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate 4DPG as a targeted antitumor/anti-metastatic pharmacological lead compound to circumvent EMT-associated drug resistance and suggest its clinical benefits for the treatment of aggressive cancers.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 743
Author(s):  
Da-Young Lee ◽  
Moon-Young Song ◽  
Eun-Hee Kim

Colorectal cancer still has a high incidence and mortality rate, according to a report from the American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer has a high prevalence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Oxidative stress, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation, has been known to cause inflammatory diseases and malignant disorders. In particular, the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/Kelch-like ECH-related protein 1 (KEAP1) pathway is well known to protect cells from oxidative stress and inflammation. Nrf2 was first found in the homolog of the hematopoietic transcription factor p45 NF-E2, and the transcription factor Nrf2 is a member of the Cap ‘N’ Collar family. KEAP1 is well known as a negative regulator that rapidly degrades Nrf2 through the proteasome system. A range of evidence has shown that consumption of phytochemicals has a preventive or inhibitory effect on cancer progression or proliferation, depending on the stage of colorectal cancer. Therefore, the discovery of phytochemicals regulating the Nrf2/KEAP1 axis and verification of their efficacy have attracted scientific attention. In this review, we summarize the role of oxidative stress and the Nrf2/KEAP1 signaling pathway in colorectal cancer, and the possible utility of phytochemicals with respect to the regulation of the Nrf2/KEAP1 axis in colorectal cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Valeria Catani ◽  
Isabella Savini ◽  
Valentina Tullio ◽  
Valeria Gasperi

Besides their vital role in hemostasis and thrombosis, platelets are also recognized to be involved in cancer, where they play an unexpected central role: They actively influence cancer cell behavior, but, on the other hand, platelet physiology and phenotype are impacted by tumor cells. The existence of this platelet-cancer loop is supported by a large number of experimental and human studies reporting an association between alterations in platelet number and functions and cancer, often in a way dependent on patient, cancer type and treatment. Herein, we shall report on an update on platelet-cancer relationships, with a particular emphasis on how platelets might exert either a protective or a deleterious action in all steps of cancer progression. To this end, we will describe the impact of (i) platelet count, (ii) bioactive molecules secreted upon platelet activation, and (iii) microvesicle-derived miRNAs on cancer behavior. Potential explanations of conflicting results are also reported: Both intrinsic (heterogeneity in platelet-derived bioactive molecules with either inhibitory or stimulatory properties; features of cancer cell types, such as aggressiveness and/or tumour stage) and extrinsic (heterogeneous characteristics of cancer patients, study design and sample preparation) factors, together with other confounding elements, contribute to “the Janus face” of platelets in cancer. Given the difficulty to establish the univocal role of platelets in a tumor, a better understanding of their exact contribution is warranted, in order to identify an efficient therapeutic strategy for cancer management, as well as for better prevention, screening and risk assessment protocols.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Liu ◽  
Yunze Liu ◽  
Zhao Liu ◽  
Changwei Lin ◽  
Fanchao Meng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in cancer progression and metabolism regulation. Serine/glycine metabolism supports the growth of cancer cells by contributing to their anabolic demands and epigenome as well as by regulating their redox state. However, the role of circRNA in the regulation of serine/glycine metabolism has not been well elucidated. Methods Microarray analysis was used to screen differentially expressed novel circRNAs. qRT-PCR and FISH were utilized to analyzed the expression of circMYH9. CCK8, colony formation and FACS were used to analyze proliferation of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Xenograft experiments were used to analyze tumor growth in vivo. RNA-sequencing, immunoblot and LC–MS were used to identify the downstream metabolic pathway of circMYH9. ChIRP, Mass Spectrometry, RIP and RNA pulldown were utilized to test the interaction between circMYH9, hnRNPA2B1 and p53 pre-mRNA. ChIP-qPCR was used to analyze the binding sites of HIF-1α. Chemically-induced CRC mice were generated to evaluate the role of circMYH9 in tumorigenesis. Results We identified an intron-derived circRNA, circMYH9, which was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues. A higher circMYH9 level correlated with shorter relapse-free survival and overall survival of CRC patients. CircMYH9 promoted serine/glycine metabolism, the NAD + /NADH ratio, and glutathione recycling and inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a p53-dependent manner, impacting tumour growth. Mechanistically, circMYH9 destabilized the pre-mRNA of p53 by recruiting hnRNPA2B1 in the nucleus. hnRNPA2B1 bound to N6-methyladenosine sites on the 3' untranslated region of p53 pre-mRNA and maintained its stability. Moreover, a lack of amino acids led to an elevated level of ROS, resulting in increased HIF1α, which promoted circMYH9 expression by binding to the promoter region. Furthermore, in vivo AAV9-mediated transfection of circMYH9 could drive chemically-induced carcinogenesis by suppressing p53 in mice. Conclusions The overexpression of circMYH9 promotes CRC proliferation though modulating serine/glycine metabolism and redox homeostasis in a p53-dependent manner, and targeting circMYH9 and its pathway may be an effective strategy for the treatment of CRC.


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