Disulfiram Sensitizes a Therapeutic-Resistant Glioblastoma to the TGF-β Receptor Inhibitor

Despite neurosurgery following radiation and chemotherapy, residual glioblastoma (GBM) cells develop therapeutic resistance (TR) leading to recurrence. The GBM heterogeneity confers TR. Therefore, an effective strategy must target cancer stem cells (CSCs) and other malignant cancer cells. TGF-β and mesenchymal transition are the indicators for poor prognoses. The activity of aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) is a functional CSC marker. However, the interplay between TGF-β and ALDHs remains unclear. We developed radiation-resistant and radiation-temozolomide-resistant GBM models to investigate the underlying mechanisms conferring TR. Galunisertib is a drug targeting TGF-β receptors. Disulfiram (DSF) is an anti-alcoholism drug which functions by inhibiting ALDHs. The anti-tumor effects of combining DSF and Galunisertib were evaluated by in vitro cell grow, wound healing, Transwell assays, and in vivo orthotopic GBM model. Mesenchymal-like phenotype was facilitated by TGF-β in TR GBM. Additionally, TR activated ALDHs. DSF inhibited TR-induced cell migration and tumor sphere formation. However, DSF did not affect the tumor growth in vivo. Spectacularly, DSF sensitized TR GBM to Galunisertib both in vitro and in vivo. ALDH activity positively correlated with TGF-β-induced mesenchymal properties in TR GBM. CSCs and mesenchymal-like GBM cells targeted together by combining DSF and Galunisertib may be a good therapeutic strategy for recurrent GBM patients.

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Circular RNA CDR1as Inhibits the Metastasis of Gastric Cancer through Targeting miR-876-5p/GNG7 Axis

Gastroenterology Research and Practice ◽

10.1155/2021/5583029 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Jiajia Jiang ◽

Rong Li ◽

Junyi Wang ◽

Jie Hou ◽

Hui Qian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Circular Rna ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Luciferase Reporter Gene ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Circular RNA CDR1as has been demonstrated to participate in various cancer progressions as miRNA sponges. The exact underlying mechanisms of CDR1as on gastric cancer (GC) metastasis remain unknown. Here, we found that CDR1as knockdown facilitated GC cell migration and invasion while its overexpression inhibited the migration and invasion abilities of GC cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, epithelial-mesenchymal transition- (EMT-) associated proteins and MMP2 and MMP9 were downregulated by CDR1as. Bioinformatics analysis combined with dual-luciferase reporter gene assays, western blot, RT-qPCR analysis, and functional rescue experiments demonstrated that CDR1as served as a miR-876-5p sponge and upregulated the target gene GNG7 expression to suppress GC metastasis. In summary, our findings indicate that CDR1as suppresses GC metastasis through the CDR1as/miR-876-5p/GNG7 axis.

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Gambogic Acid Efficiently Kills Stem-Like Colorectal Cancer Cells by Upregulating ZFP36 Expression

Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1159/000488740 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 829-846 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Fang Wei ◽

Tong Zhang ◽

Zhi Yang ◽

Jian-Chang Wei ◽

Hong-Fen Shen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Stem Cells ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Bioluminescence Imaging ◽

Side Population ◽

Gambogic Acid ◽

Tumor Sphere ◽

Sphere Formation

Background/Aims: Gambogic acid (GA), the main active compound of Gamboge hanburyi, has been reported to be a potential novel antitumor drug. Whether GA inhibits putative cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are considered to be the major cause of cancer treatment failure, remains largely unknown. This study investigated whether GA inhibits the CSCs of colorectal cancer (CRC) and its possible mechanisms. Methods: We performed CCK8 and tumor sphere formation assays, percentage analysis of both side population and CD133+CD44+ cells, and the detection of stem cells markers, in order to assess the role of GA in inhibiting the stem celllike features of CRC. An mRNA microarray was performed to identify the downstream gene affected by GA and rescue assays were performed to further clarify whether the downstream gene is involved in the GA induced decrease of the stem cell-like CRC population. CRC cells were engineered with a CSC detector vector encoding GFP and luciferase (Luc) under the control of the Nanog promoter, which were utilized to investigate the effect of GA on putative CSC in human tumor xenograft-bearing mice using in vivo bioluminescence imaging. Results: Our results showed that GA significantly reduced tumor sphere formation and the percentages of side population and CD133+CD44+ cells, while also decreasing the expression of stemness and EMT-associated markers in CRC cells in vitro. GA killed stem-like CRC cells by upregulating the expression of ZFP36, which is dependent on the inactivation of the EGFR/ ERK signaling pathway. GFP+ cells harboring the PNanog-GFP-T2A-Luc transgene exhibited CSC characteristics. The in vivo results showed that GA significantly inhibited tumor growth in nude mice, accompanied by a remarkable reduction in the putative CSC number, based on whole-body bioluminescence imaging. Conclusion: These findings suggest that GA significantly inhibits putative CSCs of CRC both in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting the activation of the EGFR/ ERK/ZFP36 signaling pathway and may be an effective drug candidate for anticancer therapies.

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SNHG5 inhibits the progression of EMT through the ubiquitin-degradation of MTA2 in oesophageal cancer

Carcinogenesis ◽

10.1093/carcin/bgaa110 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sisi Wei ◽

Shiping Sun ◽

Xinliang Zhou ◽

Cong Zhang ◽

Xiaoya Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Lines ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Survival Rates ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

And Function

Abstract A substantial fraction of transcripts are known as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and these transcripts play pivotal roles in the development of cancer. However, little information has been published regarding the functions of lncRNAs in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and the underlying mechanisms. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that small nucleolar RNA host gene 5 (SNHG5), a known lncRNA, is dysregulated in gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we explored the expression and function of SNHG5 in development of ESCC. SNHG5 was found to be downregulated in human ESCC tissues and cell lines, and this downregulation was associated with cancer progression, clinical outcomes and survival rates of ESCC patients. Furthermore, we also found that overexpression of SNHG5 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of ESCC cells in vivo and in vitro. Notably, we found that metastasis-associated protein 2 (MTA2) was pulled down by SNHG5 in ESCC cells using RNA pulldown assay. We also found that SNHG5 reversed the epithelial–mesenchymal transition by interacting with MTA2. In addition, overexpression of SNHG5 downregulated the transcription of MTA2 and caused its ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Thus, overexpression of MTA2 partially abrogated the effect of SNHG5 in ESCC cell lines. Furthermore, we found that MTA2 mRNA expression was significantly elevated in ESCC specimens, and a negative correlation between SNHG5 and MTA2 expression was detected. Overall, this study demonstrated, for the first time, that SNHG5-regulated MTA2 functions as an important player in the progression of ESCC and provide a new potential therapeutic strategy for ESCC.

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Blockage of neddylation modification stimulates tumor sphere formation in vitro and stem cell differentiation and wound healing in vivo

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1522367113 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (21) ◽

pp. E2935-E2944 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Xiaochen Zhou ◽

Mingjia Tan ◽

Mukesh K. Nyati ◽

Yongchao Zhao ◽

Gongxian Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wound Healing ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Human Cancer ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Stem Cell Differentiation ◽

Skin Wound Healing ◽

Tumor Sphere ◽

Sphere Formation

MLN4924, also known as pevonedistat, is the first-in-class inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme, which blocks the entire neddylation modification of proteins. Previous preclinical studies and current clinical trials have been exclusively focused on its anticancer property. Unexpectedly, we show here, to our knowledge for the first time, that MLN4924, when applied at nanomolar concentrations, significantly stimulates in vitro tumor sphere formation and in vivo tumorigenesis and differentiation of human cancer cells and mouse embryonic stem cells. These stimulatory effects are attributable to (i) c-MYC accumulation via blocking its degradation and (ii) continued activation of EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and its downstream pathways, including PI3K/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin and RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK, via inducing EGFR dimerization. Finally, MLN4924 accelerates EGF-mediated skin wound healing in mouse and stimulates cell migration in an in vitro culture setting. Taking these data together, our study reveals that neddylation modification could regulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation and that a low dose of MLN4924 might have a therapeutic value for stem cell therapy and tissue regeneration.

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JianPi JieDu Recipe Inhibits Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Colorectal Cancer through TGF-β/Smad Mediated Snail/E-Cadherin Expression

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2017/2613198 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xuan Liu ◽

Qing Ji ◽

Wanli Deng ◽

Ni Chai ◽

Yuanyuan Feng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Concentration Dependent Manner ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

New Findings ◽

Smad Signaling Pathway ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

E Cadherin

JPJD was an ideal alternative traditional Chinese medicine compound in the prevention and treatment of CRC, but its underlying mechanisms has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated in vitro that TGF-β-induced EMT promoted the invasion and metastasis of CRC cells, reduced the expression of E-cadherin, and elevated the expression of Vimentin. However, JPJD could inhibit the invasive and migratory ability of TGF-β-stimulated CRC cells in a concentration-dependent manner through increasing the expression of E-cadherin and repressing the expression of Vimentin, as well as the inhibition of TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Meanwhile, JPJD reduced the transcriptional activities of EMT-associated factors Snail and E-cadherin during the initiation of TGF-β-induced EMT. In vivo, the results demonstrated that JPJD can significantly inhibit the liver and lung metastasis of orthotopic CRC tumor in nude mice, as well as significantly prolonging the survival time of tumor-bearing in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, JPJD can upregulate the expression of E-cadherin and Smad2/3 in the cytoplasm and downregulate the expression of Vimentin, p-Smad2/3, and Snail in the orthotopic CRC tumor tissues. In conclusions, our new findings provided evidence that JPJD could inhibit TGF-β-induced EMT in CRC through TGF-β/Smad mediated Snail/E-cadherin expression.

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Notch and wnt-beta catenin pathways as targets of γ-secretase inhibitor IX (GSI) mediated therapy in CD44+ gastric cancer (GC) cells.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2016.34.4_suppl.99 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (4_suppl) ◽

pp. 99-99

Author(s):

Ruben R Plentz ◽

Samarpita Barat ◽

Xi Chen ◽

Cuong Bui ◽

Przemyslaw Bozko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Beta Catenin ◽

Downstream Signaling ◽

Tumor Sphere ◽

Pathway Crosstalk ◽

Secretase Inhibitor ◽

Effective Inhibition ◽

Alternative Drug ◽

Sphere Formation

99 Background: GC is the second most common cause of cancer related death worldwide. New palliative therapeutic approaches to treat GC are of urgent need. Targeting cancer stem cells (CSC) could be an effective approach to treat GC. Recent studies have indicated that Notch signaling and wnt-beta-catenin pathways are crucial for CSC development. In this study, we mainly focused on inactivation of both Notch and wnt-beta-catenin pathways in CSC CD44+ GC cells using GSI. Methods: For our experiments we have used the GC cell line MKN45, as it showed expression of both targets (CD44,Hes1). For in vitro experiments proliferation, wound healing, invasion and tumorsphere assays were performed to analyze the migration, invasive and tumorigenic potential of CD44+ sorted GC initiating cells after GSI treatment. Western blot analyses of downstream signaling targets of Notch and wnt-beta catenin were tested after GSI treatment. SiRNA experiments for Notch1 and CD44 were also performed in order to confirm the Notch and wnt-beta-catenin pathway crosstalk. For in vivo analysis sorted CD44+ cells were subcutaneously injected into NMRI-nu/numice and were treated with vehicle or GSI. Results: CD44+ sorted MKN45 cells showed high expression of Hes1 as compared to the CD44- cell population. GSI treatment showed effective inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor sphere formation of CD44+ cells. Interestingly, amongst all Notch receptors, Notch1 was found to be important in mediating the crosstalk between Notch and wnt-beta-catenin signaling cascades in CD44+ GC cells. Moreover, upon silencing of both CD44 and Notch1 by SiRNA showed effective inhibition of downstream targets and reconfirmed the proposed hypothesis of CD44 mediated Notch and wnt/beta-catenin crosstalk in GC cells. Conclusions: Our study highlights the crosstalk between Notch and wnt-beta-catenin in GC CD44+ cells. GSI could be an alternative drug to treat human GC as it effectively targets the CD44+ GC cells thus, completely reducing all the chances of relapse and metastasis associated with GC. Therefore, GSI therapy can open up new avenues for GC treatment with improved / better clinical outcome.

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LncRNA FBXL19-AS1 promotes breast cancer cells proliferation and invasion via acting as a molecular sponge to miR-718

Bioscience Reports ◽

10.1042/bsr20182018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Zhenmin Ding ◽

Pengcheng Ye ◽

Xiaohu Yang ◽

Hongmiao Cai

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Potential Therapeutic Target ◽

Poor Overall Survival ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Non Coding Rnas ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Proliferation And Invasion

Abstract Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been suggested to serve vital roles in tumor initiation and progression. However, the expression and underlying mechanisms of lncRNA FBXL19-AS1 in breast cancer (BC) remain unclear. In the present study, we found that FBXL19-AS1 expression was significantly up-regulated and correlated with advanced clinical features and poor overall survival of BC patients. Functionally, FBXL19-AS1 inhibition suppressed BC cells proliferation, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes in vitro and reduced tumor growth in vivo. In addition, we found that FBXL19-AS1 might function as a ceRNA to sponge miR-718, and miR-718 could rescue the effects of FBXL19-AS1 on BC cells progression. Therefore, these findings suggested that FBXL19-AS1 might serve as an oncogenic lncRNA and promoted BC progression by sponging miR-718, indicating FBXL19-AS1 could serve as a potential therapeutic target for BC treatment.

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TGF-β1 Induced Deficiency of Linc00261 Promotes Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition and Stemness of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Modulating SMAD3

10.21203/rs.3.rs-986336/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zhanjun Chen ◽

Leyang Xiang ◽

Huohui Ou ◽

Yinghao Fang ◽

Yuyan Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Poor Prognosis ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Tumor Sphere ◽

Non Coding Rnas ◽

Tgf Β1 ◽

Hcc Cells

Abstract Emerging evidence suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in the metastasis and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Kinds of lncRNAs were found to be involved in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) or stem-like traits in human cancers, however, the molecular mechanism and signaling pathways targeting EMT and stemness remains largely unknown. Previously, we found that linc00261 was down-regulated in HCC and associated with multiple worse clinic pathological parameters and poor prognosis. Here, we show that linc00261 was down-regulated in TGF-β1 stimulated cells, and forced expression of linc00261 attenuated EMT and stem-like traits in HCC.Linc00261 also inhibited the tumor sphere forming in vitro and decreased the tumorigenicity in vivo. Furthermore, we revealed that linc00261 suppressed the expression and phosphorylation of SMAD3 (p-SMAD3), which is a core transcriptional modulator in TGF-β1 signaling mediated EMT and the acquisition of stemness traits. A negative correlation between linc00261 and p-SMAD3 was determined in HCC samples.Conclusion: Our study revealed that linc00261suppressed EMT and stem-like traits of HCC cells by inhibiting TGF-β1/SMAD3 signaling.

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Colorectal cancer-derived exosomal miR-106b-3p promotes metastasis by down-regulating DLC-1 expression

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs20191087 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 134 (4) ◽

pp. 419-434 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

He Liu ◽

Yanlong Liu ◽

Ping Sun ◽

Kaiming Leng ◽

Yi Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

High Serum ◽

Mouse Lung ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Paired Serum ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract Cancer-derived exosomal miRNAs play an important role in the development of metastasis, but the effects and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the miRNA expression profiles of 5 paired serum exosomal samples from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and non-mCRC patients via RNA sequencing. After we evaluated the differentially expressed miRNAs in 80 CRC patients, miR-106b-3p was selected as a metastasis-associated miRNA of CRC. We showed that the expression level of serum exosomal miR-106b-3p was significantly higher in CRC patients with metastasis than those without metastasis. Additionally, high serum exosomal miR-106b-3p expression in patients was correlated with a poor prognosis. Coculture of low-metastatic CRC cells with high-metastatic CRC cell-derived exosomes promoted cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which was caused by the transport and transduction of miR-106b-3p in vitro. Moreover, exosomal miR-106b-3p promoted lung metastasis of CRC cells in vivo. In addition, we demonstrated that miR-106b-3p regulated metastasis by targeting deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC-1). A negative correlation was also identified between miR-106b-3p and DLC-1 expression in human CRC tumour tissues and in mouse lung metastatic lesions. Collectively, our study indicated that metastasis-associated miR-106b-3p from serum exosomes could be used as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for CRC patients.

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Nitidine Chloride Is a Potential Alternative Therapy for Glioma Through Inducing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Alleviating Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Integrative Cancer Therapies ◽

10.1177/1534735419900927 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 ◽

pp. 153473541990092

Author(s):

Zihang Chen ◽

Jinsen Zhang ◽

Hao Xue ◽

Mingyu Qian ◽

Xing Guo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reactive Oxygen Species ◽

Er Stress ◽

Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Xenograft Model ◽

Glioma Stem Cells ◽

Oxygen Species ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Sphere Formation

Background: Malignant glioma is a lethal brain tumor that is highly resistant to standard therapy. Our research aims to explore the suppressive effects of nitidine chloride (NC) on gliomas and the mechanisms involved, showing that it is a potential agent for integrative therapy of gliomas. Methods: After glioma cells were treated with NC, several experiments were performed to evaluate NC’s antitumor effects. CCK-8 assay was used to detect viability. Transwell and 3-dimensional spheroid invasion assays were used to evaluate motility of glioma in vitro, and the sphere-formation assay showed NC’s influence on glioma stem cells. Apoptosis and intracellular reactive oxygen species were measured by means of flow cytometry. Subcellular structures were observed through transmission electron microscopy. Western blot analysis reflected expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker proteins. An orthotopic xenograft model was established to investigate the tumor suppressive effects in vivo. Results: Nitidine chloride inhibited glioma cell migration and invasion in vitro, downregulated the EMT proteins, and suppressed sphere formation of glioma stem cells. Furthermore, NC induced persistent ER stress that contributed to apoptosis and reactive oxygen species production. The xenograft model showed that NC effectively restricted glioma growth and invasion in vivo. Furthermore, we confirmed the signaling pathways that ER stress downregulates C/EBPβ and slug, as well as inhibition of the AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin axis caused by NC, in U-87 MG. Conclusion: We demonstrated that NC inhibits gliomas in vitro and in vivo by activating ER stress and downregulating EMT, which provides a basis for glioma therapy.

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