新霉胺通过抑制血管生成素活性抑制人黑色素瘤细胞增殖、迁移和侵润（英文）

新霉胺(neamine)是一种无毒的新霉素(neomycin)降解产物;已有研究证明,其可抑制血管生成素(angiogenin,ANG)诱导的内皮细胞血管生成作用,阻滞异种移植的人结肠腺癌在裸鼠的生长.本研究证明,新霉胺对人黑色瘤细胞株A375的细胞增殖、迁移和侵润作用.MTT法及软琼脂培养显示,新霉胺可明显抑制A375细胞的增殖和集落形成能力.Transwell试验证明,新霉胺可阻滞A375细胞,乃至血管生成素诱导的A375细胞的迁移和侵润能力.此外,免疫荧光揭示新霉胺可阻断血管生成素的核转位,从而抑制血管生成素诱导的A375细胞增殖.上述结果提示,新霉胺可通过抑制血管生成素的核转位,从而抑制肿瘤细胞增殖、迁移和侵润.鉴于与新霉素比较,新霉胺毒性小,因此新霉胺可望作为黑色素瘤治疗的先导药物,颇具开发前景和潜力.     

新型埃博霉素衍生物对血管新生抑制作用的研究

研究新合成的新型埃博霉素单甲基衍生物对血管新生的影响,以期阐明埃博霉素在肿瘤细胞和血管新生中的效应及其所作用的重要途径,为药物新靶点的开发提供理论依据.首先,以人脐静脉内皮细胞为研究对象,利用MTT法检测细胞增殖,Transwell法检测细胞迁移和侵润,明胶酶谱分析金属基质蛋白酶MMP2的活性,RT PCR检测MMP2 RNA表达水平|然后以鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜为模型,研究该衍生物对血管新生的影响.结果表明:1）新型埃博霉素单甲基衍生物可以显著抑制人脐静脉内皮细胞HUVEC的增殖、迁移和侵润以及Ⅳ型胶原酶分泌; 2）新型埃博霉素单甲基衍生物可以使鸡胚尿囊膜产生明显的无血管区,对血管新生产生明显的抑制作用. 结果说明,新型埃博霉素单甲基衍生物可以通过抑制血管内皮细胞的增殖、迁移、侵润以及Ⅳ型胶原酶分泌等显著抑制诱导血管新生过程的步骤,最终抑制血管新生.     

沙利度胺通过诱导G1阻滞和凋亡抑制血管内皮细胞增殖

沙利度胺是一种抗血管生成药物,临床上用于治疗多种肿瘤,但其抗肿瘤血管生成机制尚不十分清楚. 本文采用MTT法观察沙利度胺对体外培养的血管内皮细胞增殖的影响. 结果发现,沙利度胺能够抑制血管内皮细胞的增殖,其IC50为16.47 μg/mL;然后采用Hoechst染色和流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡和细胞周期,发现沙利度胺能够诱导内皮细胞凋亡,并干扰细胞的周期,出现G0/G1期阻滞. 最后,通过Western印迹方法分析沙利度胺对血管内皮细胞Bcl-2蛋白表达的影响,发现抗凋亡的Bcl-2蛋白表达水平随沙利度胺浓度增大而降低. 初步结果提示,沙利度胺可能通过阻遏抗凋亡分子Bcl-2表达,激活诱导G1期阻滞的信号通路而抑制内皮细胞新生,从而抑制肿瘤生长. 诱导内皮细胞凋亡及G1期阻滞的具体分子机制正在研究中.     

血管生成素与前列腺癌

血管生成素（angiogenin,ANG）属脊椎动物特异的核糖核酸酶A超家族第5个成员,是一种分泌型核糖核酸酶,在人类前列腺癌高表达.ANG在前列腺癌的上皮细胞和内皮细胞转位入核,通过刺激rRNA生物合成而介导肿瘤血管新生、癌细胞存活及增殖,从而促进前列腺癌的进程.ANG刺激rRNA合成不仅为前列腺内皮细胞发生癌变所必需,也是前列腺癌细胞不依赖雄激素生长所必需.动物实验证明,各种针对ANG的拮抗剂,包括抑制其核转位、功能和活性的抑制剂均可抑制前列腺癌.现已明确ANG的作用不依赖雄激素,从而为ANG作为去势（即睾丸切除）抗性前列腺癌（castration resistant prostate cancer）的治疗靶标提供了坚实的理论基础.     

血管生成素:RNA代谢过程中重要的核糖核酸酶

血管生成素是核糖核酸酶A超家族成员之一,具有较弱的核糖核酸酶活性.最新研究发现,血管生成素参与细胞内多种RNA的代谢过程.在生长条件下,血管生成素可以发生核转位聚集于细胞核中,促进rRNA转录,并可参与其剪切加工,同时它也调控一系列mRNA基因的转录,最终促进细胞的生长和增殖;在应激条件下,血管生成素能降解tRNA形成tiRNA,抑制细胞内整体蛋白质的翻译水平,并促进应激小体的形成,激活细胞内应激保护机制,从而促进细胞存活.此外,血管生成素还可参与非编码小RNA等RNA代谢过程.本文概述了血管生成素在RNA代谢中的作用与分子机制等方面的进展,并探讨了其在疾病发生和发展中的作用,以期开拓血管生成素的研究新思路.     

基于血管生成素的药物研发

血管生成素（angiogenin,ANG）在伤口愈合、月经周期、妊娠、胚胎发育、先天性免疫、细胞应激保护和维持机体稳态等生理病理过程,特别是肿瘤的生存与进展、神经细胞的存活和生长中扮演着重要角色,是药物研发的重要靶点.本文综述了ANG在功能上的特殊性及其药物研发潜力.在肿瘤中,ANG扮演促进肿瘤细胞增生和促进血管生成的双重角色,且是其它血管生成因子如血管内皮生长因子（vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF）、酸性成纤维生长因子（acidic fibroblast growth factor, aFGF）、碱性成纤维生长因子（basic fibroblast growth factor, bFGF）和表皮生长因子（epidermal growth factor, EGF）发挥作用的必需准许因子. ANG的抗肿瘤治疗较之目前常用的针对单一血管生成因子的抑制剂更有效,具有良好的药物研发和临床运用前景.由于ANG通过核转位促进rRNA转录是发挥促进肿瘤细胞增生和血管生成活性所必须的,因此,它的核转位抑制剂如新霉胺,将有望首先获得抗肿瘤临床应用.另外,业已证明重组ANG能促进体内外运动神经元的存活,且可明显改善肌萎缩侧索硬化症（amyotrophic lateral sclerosi, ALS）模型小鼠的行为,其在神经退行性疾病治疗方面也将有良好的研发前景.     

新型蛋白酶体抑制剂YSY-01A对肿瘤细胞促血管生成作用的抑制及其机制初探

YSY-01A是一种新型蛋白酶体抑制剂,前期研究已经证实其对肿瘤细胞的增殖有抑制作用．但是它对肿瘤血管生成是否有影响尚不明确．本研究旨在探明YSY-01A阻碍肿瘤细胞促进血管生成的作用及机制．我们首先将磺酰罗丹明B(sulforhodamine B,SRB)法与细胞共培养(Transwell)模型相结合,探讨YSY-01A抑制人结肠癌细胞(HT-29 cells)对人脐静脉内皮细胞(human umbilical vein endothelial cells,HUVECs)的增殖促进作用;运用高内涵筛选(high content screening,HCS)法研究YSY-01A对HT-29细胞中NF-κB核转位的影响;利用Western blot法检测YSY-01A对HT-29细胞中缺氧诱导因子-1α(hypoxia- inducible factor-1α,HIF-1α)及血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)的表达调控．为了观察YSY-01A对HUVEC增殖和运动有无直接抑制作用,我们采用SRB法观察YSY-01A对HUVEC的增殖抑制作用;运用HCS法分别考察YSY-01A对HUVEC的运动抑制和细胞毒作用．结果证实,YSY-01A可以阻碍HT-29细胞对HUVEC的增殖促进作用并具有浓度依赖性．YSY-01A还可抑制HT-29细胞中NF-κB的核转位,下调HIF-1α及VEGF的表达．进一步研究证实,YSY-01A能够浓度依赖地抑制HUVECs的增殖和运动,而不伴有明显的细胞毒作用．上述结果表明,YSY-01A可以通过抑制蛋白酶体活性下调肿瘤细胞中促血管生成因子的表达,进而在血管内皮细胞中发挥抗血管生成作用．     

新狼毒素A诱导人黑色素瘤A375细胞凋亡的机制研究

为探讨新狼毒素A抑制人黑色素瘤A375细胞增殖及诱导凋亡的作用。本实验采用噻唑蓝(MTT)法检测新狼毒素A对人黑色素瘤A375细胞增殖的影响,Hoechst33258法观察细胞形态,流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡率和线粒体膜电位,Westernblot检测凋亡相关蛋白表达。结果显示新狼毒素A以时间剂量依赖性的方式显著抑制A375细胞的增殖;不同浓度新狼毒素A(0、15、30、45μmol/L)作用于A375细胞48h后细胞出现显著凋亡特征,新狼毒素A增加A375细胞的凋亡率且降低了线粒体膜电位,上调Bax、caspase-3和细胞色素C(CytochromeC)蛋白的表达,下调Bcl-2蛋白的表达。以上结果说明新狼毒素A抑制A375细胞增殖,诱导细胞凋亡,其机制可能与诱导线粒体途径的凋亡有关。     

敲减NADPH氧化酶4能降低STAT3活性抑制人黑色素瘤A375细胞的增殖

NADPH氧化酶参与细胞活性氧族（ROS）的生成过程,而ROS与肿瘤细胞增殖密切相关. 为了阐明NADPH氧化酶影响黑色素瘤A375细胞增殖的分子机制,本文首先应用荧光定量PCR和Western 印迹证实NOX4为人黑色素瘤A375细胞的NADPH氧化酶功能核心亚基;随后根据NOX4基因设计3条干扰序列和对照序列并连接到pSuper-retro-puro载体,经鉴定后转化E.coli DH5α感受态细胞、筛选有效干扰序列并用于逆转录病毒包装,病毒液感染A375细胞并经嘌呤霉素筛选10 d,构建了NOX4缺陷的A375稳转细胞珠（A375 NOX4Δ）,其NOX4的mRNA和蛋白表达分别下降了66.02%和77.35%,伴随NADPH氧化酶活性和ROS水平分别下降了79.17%和64.16%;MTT、EdU法检测显示,A375-NOX4Δ细胞的增殖能力比A375-WT细胞明显降低、倍增时间延长,增殖细胞数量下降了68.27%（P＜0.01）,呈现G1→S期阻滞;Western blot检测表明A375 NOX4Δ细胞的 cyclin D1、CDK4分别下降了55.7%（P＜0.01）和64.8%（P＜0.01）,而P53、P21分别增加了6.89 倍（P＜0.01）和3.27 倍（P＜0.01）,STAT3、P-STAT3分别下降了51.80%（P＜0.05）和82.58%（P＜0.01）;电泳迁移率变动分析（EMSA）表明,A375 NOX4Δ细胞的STAT3-DNA结合活性明显降低. 上述结果提示,敲减A375细胞的NOX4表达可能通过减少ROS生成使得STAT3磷酸化水平及其结合DNA的活性下降,最终导致A375-NOX4Δ细胞增殖减少、呈现G1→S期阻滞,这为黑色素瘤发病机制研究提供了新思路及可能的药物作用靶点.     

过表达核糖核酸酶抑制因子通过调节ILK/PI3K/AKT信号途径抑制小鼠黑色素瘤B16-F10细胞体内外生长

核糖核酸酶抑制因子（ribonuclease inhibitor,RI）是胞浆内的一种酸性蛋白质.已有研究证明,RI与核糖核酸酶A（RNaseA）和血管生成素（angiogenin,ANG）结合可抑制其活性.本室前期实验证实,RI可有效抑制某些肿瘤的生长和转移. 然而,RI抑制肿瘤的分子机制尚不清楚. 本研究探讨RI对小鼠黑色素瘤B16-F10细胞生长和凋亡的影响及其机制. MTT法结合流式细胞术分析结果证明,RI基因稳定转染导致B16+F10黑色素瘤细胞S期阻滞,抑制B16-F10黑色素瘤细胞增殖. Annexin V/PI结合流式细胞术结果显示,RI过表达引起细胞凋亡.与此相一致,蛋白质印迹分析显示,过表达RI引起抗凋亡分子Bcl-2表达下调,而Bax上调,同时伴有Pro-casepase 3激活. C57BL/ 6小鼠移植成瘤实验显示,与对照相比,转染RI的B16-F10细胞形成的肿瘤重量显著减少,同时伴有肿瘤组织微血管密度降低.提示RI过表达能抑制微血管生成. 此外,体内外组织/细胞免疫化学和蛋白质印迹结果揭示,过表达RI可显著抑制整合素连接激酶(integrin-linked kinase,ILK)下游靶分子Akt和GSK-3β的磷酸化,并降低β-联蛋白的表达.研究结果证明,过表达RI可通过抑制ILK/ PI3K/AKT信号通路,促进细胞凋亡,引起S期阻滞,并抑制血管生成,从而显著抑制小鼠黑色素瘤B16-F10细胞在体内、外的生长.上述结果提示,RI可能是治疗黑色素瘤的有效分子靶点.     

Angiogenin activates Erk1/2 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Angiogenin is a potent angiogenic factor that binds to endothelial cells and is endocytosed and rapidly translocated to the nucleus where it is concentrated in the nucleolus and binds to DNA. Angiogenin also activates cell-associated proteases, induces cell invasion and migration, stimulates cell proliferation, and organizes cultured cells to form tubular structures. The intracellular signaling pathways that mediate these various cellular responses are not well understood. Here we report that angiogenin induces transient phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase1/2 (Erk1/2) in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Angiogenin does not affect the phosphorylation status of stress-associated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. PD98059--a specific inhibitor of MAP or Erk kinase 1 (MEK 1), the upstream kinase that phosphorylates Erk1/2--abolishes angiogenin-induced Erk phosphorylation and cell proliferation without affecting nuclear translocation of angiogenin. In contrast, neomycin, a known inhibitor of nuclear translocation and cell proliferation, does not interfere with angiogenin-induced Erk1/2 phosphorylation. These data indicate that both intracellular signaling pathways and direct nuclear functions of angiogenin are required for angiogenin-induced cell proliferation and angiogenesis.     

CD10-Equipped Melanoma Cells Acquire Highly Potent Tumorigenic Activity: A Plausible Explanation of Their Significance for a Poor Prognosis

CD10 has been widely used in cancer diagnosis. We previously demonstrated that its expression in melanoma increased with tumor progression and predicted poor patient survival. However, the mechanism by which CD10 promotes melanoma progression remains unclear. In order to elucidate the role of CD10 in melanoma, we established CD10-overexpressing A375 melanoma cells and performed DNA microarray and qRT–PCR analyses to identify changes in the gene expression profile. The microarray analysis revealed that up-regulated genes in CD10-A375 were mostly involved in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis; down-regulated genes mostly belonged to the categories associated with cell adhesion and migration. Accordingly, in functional experiments, CD10-A375 showed significantly greater cell proliferation in vitro and higher tumorigenicity in vivo; CD10 enzymatic inhibitors, thiorphan and phosphoramidon, significantly blocked the tumor growth of CD10-A375 in mice. In migration and invasion assays, CD10-A375 displayed lower migratory and invasive capacity than mock-A375. CD10 augmented melanoma cell resistance to apoptosis mediated by etoposide and gemcitabine. These findings indicate that CD10 may promote tumor progression by regulating the expression profiles of genes related to cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis.     

Conditioned media from adipocytes promote proliferation,migration, and invasion in melanoma and colorectal cancer cells

Epidemiological evidence suggests that obesity can significantly increase the risk of various cancers, although the mechanisms underlying this link are completely unknown. Here, we analyzed the effect of adipocytes on melanoma and colon cancer cells proliferation, migration, and invasion. The potential effects of conditioned media (CM) obtained from differentiated mouse 3T3-L1 cells and human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSC) on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of B16BL6 melanoma and colon 26-L5 cancer cells were investigated. The 3T3-L1 and hAMSC CM increased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in both the cell lines. In addition, adipocytes CM increased matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and MMP-2 activity in both B16BL6 and colon 26-L5 cells. These effects were found to be associated with an increased expression of various oncogenic proteins in B16BL6 and colon 26-L5 cells. Also, adipocyte CM induced Akt and mTOR activation in both tumor cell lines, and the pharmacological inhibition of Akt and mTOR blocked the CM induced Akt as well as mTOR activation and CM-stimulated melanoma and colon cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. These data suggest that adipocyte promotes melanoma and colon cancer progression through modulating the expression of diverse proteins associated with cancer growth and metastasis as well as modulation of the Akt/mTOR signaling.     

Angiogenin activates human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells

Angiogenin stimulates proliferation of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells. This activity of angiogenin depends on the cell density and requires nuclear translocation of the ligand as well as activation of SAPK/JNK MAP kinase. Angiogenin binds to a 170-kDa putative receptor on the cell surface and induces phosphorylation of SAPK/JNK. It also undergoes nuclear translocation in a time and concentration dependent manner. Neomycin inhibits nuclear translocation of angiogenin and abolishes angiogenin-induced cell proliferation but does not inhibit SAPK/JNK phosphorylation. The data demonstrate that smooth muscle cells are targets for angiogenin and that both SAPK/JNK phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of the ligand are required for angiogenin to activate smooth muscle cells.     

Total saponins from Rubus parvifolius L. inhibits cell proliferation,migration and invasion of malignant melanoma in vitro and in vivo

Background: Total saponins from Rubus parvifolius L. (TSRP) are the main bioactive fractions responsible for the anti-tumor activities. The work was aimed to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of TSRP in malignant melanoma (MM) in vitro and in vivo.Methods and results: Anti-melanoma cell proliferation, invasion and migration effect of TSRP were detected in human MM A375 cells under the indicated time and dosages. In vivo anti-tumor effect of TSRP was measured in A375 xenograft immunodeficient nude mice. Sixty A375 xenografts were randomly divided into five groups: Vehicle, cyclophosphamide (CTX, 20 mg/kg), TSRP (25 mg/kg), TSRP (50 mg/kg) and TSRP (100 mg/kg) groups for 14 days’ treatment. In addition, the melanoma metastasis in lung in vivo of TSRP was detected in A375 tail vein injection mice, and the histopathalogical analysis of the lung metastasis was detected by Hematoxylin–Eosin (H&E) staining. TSRP significantly inhibited the cell proliferation, invasion and migration of A375 in vitro at the indicated time and dosages. TSRP treatment effectively blocked the tumor growth in immunodeficient nude mice. In addition, TSRP also significantly inhibited the lung metastasis of melanoma.Conclusion: The present study indicated that the TSRP has a remarkable anti-MM effect, which mainly through the inhibition of the cell invasion, migration and tumor metastasis.     

lncRNA NEAT1 facilitates melanoma cell proliferation,migration, and invasion via regulating miR-495-3p and E2F3

Melanoma contributes a lot to skin cancer-related deaths. lncRNAs are implicated in various diseases, including melanoma. lncRNA NEAT1 is frequently dysregulated and can play important roles in multiple cancers. Nevertheless, little has been studied about the function of NEAT1 in melanoma progression. In our present research, we displayed NEAT1 was overexpressed in melanoma cells. A series of functional assays showed that overexpression of NEAT1 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of melanoma cells. By contrast, NEAT1 knockdown obviously restrained melanoma cell progression. Mechanistically, it was revealed that NEAT1 could directly bind with miR-495-3p, which led to a negative effect on miR-495-3p levels. In addition, miR-495-3p was significantly decreased in melanoma cells. Furthermore, E2F3 was postulated as the target of miR-495-3p and overexpression of this miR could suppress the levels of E2F3. Meanwhile, it was exhibited that melanoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion induced by E2F3 silence was abrogated by miR-495-3p. Moreover, an in vivo xenograft nude mice model was established using A375 cells and it was indicated that NEAT1 promoted melanoma progression in vivo via regulating the miR-495-3p/E2F3 axis. In conclusion, we suggest that NEAT1 exerts an oncogenic effect on melanoma development via inhibition of miR-495-3p and induction of E2F3. NEAT1 might serve as a crucial prognostic biomarker of melanoma.     

Green tea catechins reduce invasive potential of human melanoma cells by targeting COX-2, PGE2 receptors and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin disease and a leading cause of death from skin disease due to its highly metastatic ability. To develop more effective chemopreventive agents for the prevention of melanoma, we have determined the effect of green tea catechins on the invasive potential of human melanoma cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects using A375 (BRAF-mutated) and Hs294t (Non-BRAF-mutated) melanoma cell lines as an in vitro model. Employing cell invasion assays, we found that the inhibitory effects of green tea catechins on the cell migration were in the order of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)>(-)-epigallocatechin>(-)-epicatechin-3-gallate>(-)-gallocatechin>(-)-epicatechin. Treatment of A375 and Hs294t cells with EGCG resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of cell migration or invasion of these cells, which was associated with a reduction in the levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, prostaglandin (PG) E(2) and PGE(2) receptors (EP2 and EP4). Treatment of cells with celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, also inhibited melanoma cell migration. EGCG inhibits 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-, an inducer of COX-2, and PGE(2)-induced cell migration of cells. EGCG decreased EP2 agonist (butaprost)- and EP4 agonist (Cay10580)-induced cell migration ability. Moreover, EGCG inhibited the activation of NF-κB/p65, an upstream regulator of COX-2, in A375 melanoma cells, and treatment of cells with caffeic acid phenethyl ester, an inhibitor of NF-κB, also inhibited cell migration. Inhibition of melanoma cell migration by EGCG was associated with transition of mesenchymal stage to epithelial stage, which resulted in an increase in the levels of epithelial biomarkers (E-cadherin, cytokeratin and desmoglein 2) and a reduction in the levels of mesenchymal biomarkers (vimentin, fibronectin and N-cadherin) in A375 melanoma cells. Together, these results indicate that EGCG, a major green tea catechin, has the ability to inhibit melanoma cell invasion/migration, an essential step of metastasis, by targeting the endogenous expression of COX-2, PGE(2) receptors and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.     

Novel Small Molecule XPO1/CRM1 Inhibitors Induce Nuclear Accumulation of TP53, Phosphorylated MAPK and Apoptosis in Human Melanoma Cells

XPO1/CRM1 is a key nuclear exporter protein that mediates translocation of numerous cellular regulatory proteins. We investigated whether XPO1 is a potential therapeutic target in melanoma using novel selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINE). In vitro effects of SINE on cell growth and apoptosis were measured by MTS assay and flow cytometry [Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI)], respectively in human metastatic melanoma cell lines. Immunoblot analysis was used to measure nuclear localization of key cellular proteins. The in vivo activity of oral SINE was evaluated in NOD/SCID mice bearing A375 or CHL-1 human melanoma xenografts. SINE compounds induced cytostatic and pro-apoptotic effects in both BRAF wild type and mutant (V600E) cell lines at nanomolar concentrations. The cytostatic and pro-apoptotic effects of XPO1 inhibition were associated with nuclear accumulation of TP53, and CDKN1A induction in the A375 cell line with wild type TP53, while pMAPK accumulated in the nucleus regardless of TP53 status. The orally bioavailable KPT-276 and KPT-330 compounds significantly inhibited growth of A375 (p<0.0001) and CHL-1 (p = 0.0087) human melanoma cell lines in vivo at well tolerated doses. Inhibition of XPO1 using SINE represents a potential therapeutic approach for melanoma across cells with diverse molecular phenotypes by promoting growth inhibition and apoptosis.     

Tumor-suppressive effects of CDK8 in endometrial cancer cells

CDK8 is either amplified or mutated in a variety of human cancers, and CDK8 functions as an oncoprotein in melanoma and colorectal cancers. Previously, we reported that loss or reduction of CDK8 results in aberrant fat accumulation in Drosophila and mammals, suggesting that CDK8 plays an important role in inhibiting lipogenesis. Epidemiological studies have identified obesity and overweight as the major risk factors of endometrial cancer, thus we examined whether CDK8 regulates endometrial cancer cell growth by using several endometrial cancer cell lines, including KLE, which express low levels of CDK8, as well as AN3 CA and HEC-1A cells, which have high levels of endogenous CDK8. We observed that ectopic expression of CDK8 in KLE cells inhibited cell proliferation and potently blocked tumor growth in an in vivo mouse model. In addition, gain of CDK8 in KLE cells blocked cell migration and invasion in transwell, wound healing and persistence of migratory directionality assays. Conversely, we observed the opposite effects in all of the aforementioned assays when CDK8 was depleted in AN3 CA cells. Similar to AN3 CA cells, depletion of CDK8 in HEC-1A cells strongly enhanced cell migration in transwell assays, while overexpression of CDK8 in HEC-1A cells blocked cell migration. Furthermore, gene profiling of KLE cells overexpressing CDK8 revealed genes whose protein products are involved in lipid metabolism, cell cycle and cell movement pathways. Finally, depletion of CDK8 increased the expression of lipogenic genes in endometrial cancer cells. Taken together, these results show a reverse correlation between CDK8 levels and several key features of the endometrial cancer cells, including cell proliferation, migration and invasion as well as tumor formation in vivo. Therefore, in contrast to the oncogenic effects of CDK8 in melanoma and colorectal cancers, our results suggest that CDK8 plays a tumor-suppressive role in endometrial cancers.