Bitter Melon Reduces Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth by Targeting c-Met Signaling

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains difficult to treat, and despite of advances in treatment, the overall survival rate has only modestly improved over the past several years. Thus, there is an urgent need for additional therapeutic modalities. We hypothesized that treatment of HNSCC cells with a dietary product such as bitter melon extract (BME) modulates multiple signaling pathways and regresses HNSCC tumor growth in a preclinical model. We observed a reduced cell proliferation in HNSCC cell lines. The mechanistic studies reveal that treatment of BME in HNSCC cells inhibited c-Met signaling pathway. We also observed that BME treatment in HNSCC reduced phosphoStat3, c-myc and Mcl-1 expression, downstream signaling molecules of c-Met. Furthermore, BME treatment in HNSCC cells modulated the expression of key cell cycle progression molecules leading to halted cell growth. Finally, BME feeding in mice bearing HNSCC xenograft tumor resulted in an inhibition of tumor growth and c-Met expression. Together, our results suggested that BME treatment in HNSCC cells modulates multiple signaling pathways and may have therapeutic potential for treating HNSCC.     

Stanniocalcin-1 Reduces Tumor Size in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Growing evidence has revealed high expression levels of stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) in different types of human cancers. Numerous experimental studies using cancer cell lines demonstrated the involvement of STC1 in inflammatory and apoptotic processes; however the role of STC1 in carcinogenesis remains elusive. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) an exemplified model of inflammation-related cancer, represents a paradigm of studying the association between STC1 and tumor development. Therefore, we conducted a statistical analysis on the expression levels of STC1 using clinicopathological data from 216 HCC patients. We found that STC1 was upregulated in the tumor tissues and its expression levels was positively correlated with the levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8. Intriguingly tumors with greater expression levels of STC1 (tumor/normal ≥ 2) were significantly smaller than the lower level (tumor/normal<2) samples (p = 0.008). A pharmacological approach was implemented to reveal the functional correlation between STC1 and the ILs in the HCC cell-lines. IL-6 and IL-8 treatment of Hep3B cells induced STC1 expression. Lentiviral-based STC1 overexpression in Hep3B and MHCC-97L cells however showed inhibitory action on the pro-migratory effects of IL-6 and IL-8 and reduced size of tumor spheroids. The inhibitory effect of STC1 on tumor growth was confirmed in vivo using the stable STC1-overexpressing 97L cells on a mouse xenograft model. Genetic analysis of the xenografts derived from the STC1-overexpressing 97L cells, showed upregulation of the pro-apoptotic genes interleukin-12 and NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing 3. Collectively, the anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic functions of STC1 were suggested to relate its inhibitory effect on the growth of HCC cells. This study supports the notion that STC1 may be a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory tumors in HCC patients.     

Targeting Peripheral CB1 Receptors Reduces Ethanol Intake via a Gut-Brain Axis

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miR-143在人膀胱癌细胞中的作用及机制

目的：microRNAs（miRNAs）的异常表达与多种疾病密切相关,并有可能用于肿瘤治疗。本研究探讨了miR一143在人膀胱癌细胞中的作用及机制,为膀胱癌的临床诊治提供参考。方法：采用体外培养的T24细胞株为研究对象,按照处理方式分为空白对照组（T24）、阴性对照组（NC）、miRNA-143转染组（miR-143）以及si—COX-2转染组（si—COX-2）。3H—thymidine法和Transwell趋化实验检测T24细胞增殖和迁移能力,免疫印迹法检测COX一2蛋白表达变化。结果：miR-143和si—COX-2转染T24细胞48h-72h后,细胞增值能力较正常T24细胞相比下降36％．49％（P〈0．01）,迁移能力下降81％。免疫印迹结果表明,si—COX-2或miR-143转染的T24细胞内源性COX-．2表达水平显著减少至正常T24细胞表达水平的O．39和0-31倍（P〈0．01）。结论：miR-143可降低膀胱癌T24细胞增值力和侵袭力,并抑制COX．2表达。miR-143可能通过COX-2通路发挥对膀胱癌T24细胞的增殖和侵袭的抑制作用。研究结果更加明确了microRNA在癌症中的功能,提示miR-143可作为膀胱癌的治疗候选药物。本研究为探索肿瘤生物标志物和治疗提供新的启示。     

Suppression of the PI3K Pathway In Vivo Reduces Cystitis-Induced Bladder Hypertrophy and Restores Bladder Capacity Examined by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

This study utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor the real-time status of the urinary bladder in normal and diseased states following cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced cystitis, and also examined the role of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway in the regulation of urinary bladder hypertrophy in vivo. Our results showed that under MRI visualization the urinary bladder wall was significantly thickened at 8 h and 48 h post CYP injection. The intravesical volume of the urinary bladder was also markedly reduced. Treatment of the cystitis animals with a specific PI3K inhibitor {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY294002","term_id":"1257998346","term_text":"LY294002"}}LY294002 reduced cystitis-induced bladder wall thickening and enlarged the intravesical volumes. To confirm the MRI results, we performed H&E stain postmortem and examined the levels of type I collagen by real-time PCR and western blot. Inhibition of the PI3K in vivo reduced the levels of type I collagen mRNA and protein in the urinary bladder ultimately attenuating cystitis-induced bladder hypertrophy. The bladder mass calculated according to MRI data was consistent to the bladder weight measured ex vivo under each drug treatment. MRI results also showed that the urinary bladder from animals with cystitis demonstrated high magnetic signal intensity indicating considerable inflammation of the urinary bladder when compared to normal animals. This was confirmed by examination of the pro-inflammatory factors showing that interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α levels in the urinary bladder were increased with cystitis. Our results suggest that MRI can be a useful technique in tracing bladder anatomy and examining bladder hypertrophy in vivo during disease development and the PI3K pathway has a critical role in regulating bladder hypertrophy during cystitis.     

尿路上皮癌胚抗原1（UCA1）在人膀胱癌组织及膀胱癌细胞株中特异表达

UCA1（urothelial carcinoma antigen 1）为自主研发的1个尿路上皮癌基因.应用 实时荧光定量PCR检测UCA1 mRNA在2种膀胱癌细胞系、11种非膀胱癌细胞系、18对膀胱 癌组织和配对癌旁正常膀胱组织中的表达,对表达差异进行统计学分析.结果显示, UCA1在2种膀胱癌细胞系中显著高表达,而在其他11种非膀胱癌细胞系中表达水平很低 或者不表达,二者表达差异达14~24 812倍,差异有统计学意义（P<0.001）;在18例膀 胱癌组织中,UCA1的平均表达水平是癌旁正常膀胱组织的12.4倍,表达差异有统计学意 义（P<0.001）. 实时荧光定量PCR使UCA1在膀胱癌细胞系及组织中的特异性高表达得以 量化.实验结果明确了UCA1作为潜在的肿瘤标记物在膀胱癌临床诊断中的意义,为定量 检测尿液UCA1表达并确定诊断膀胱癌的参考值打下基础.     

Molecular Diagnostics of the Involvement of Visually Normal Mucosa in the Malignancy Process in Urothelial Bladder Cancer

Molecular Biology - Immunofluorescent method by flow cytometry was used to quantify the expression of the tumor-associated protein βIII-tubulin (TUBB3) in the tissue of urothelial bladder...     

绿激光膀胱肿瘤汽化术180 例报告

目的:探讨经尿道绿激光膀胱肿瘤汽化术的手术方法、近期疗效及与其它文献方法的比较。方法:采用骶管或硬膜外腔阻滞麻醉,应用美国Laserscope公司生产的非接触式绿激光治疗系统,以30～80W功率对膀胱肿瘤进行汽化。结果:本组汽化时间10～70min,耗能12.23～86.70kJ,出血0～10 ml,术后113例未留置尿管,余67例留置尿管24～96h,膀胱冲洗0～72h,术后住院3～9d,术中均未输血,均未转为开放手术。结论:绿激光膀胱肿瘤汽化术手术安全、操作简单、手术时间短、出血少、痛苦小、留置尿管时间短、康复快,无死角、盲区,可重复性强,是一种理想的微创手术方法。     

靶向Glypican-3的肝癌免疫治疗研究进展

磷脂酰肌醇蛋白聚糖3(Glypican-3)蛋白高特异性表达于肝细胞肝癌患者中,研究表明其与肝癌的发展和转移关系密切。目前以Glypican-3蛋白为靶点治疗肝癌的免疫研究主要包括治疗性抗体开发、CAR-T免疫疗法、免疫毒素及多肽疫苗等。现对Glypican-3的结构功能与肝癌的关系进行介绍,并简要描述靶向Glypican-3治疗肝癌的研究现状。     

MicroRNA-1280 Inhibits Invasion and Metastasis by Targeting ROCK1 in Bladder Cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-protein-coding sequences that can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. This study documents the tumor suppressor role of miR-1280 in bladder cancer. Quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization analyses showed that miR-1280 is significantly down-regulated in bladder cancer cell lines and tumors compared to a non-malignant cell line or normal tissue samples. To decipher the functional significance of miR-1280 in bladder cancer, we ectopically over-expressed miR-1280 in bladder cancer cell lines. Over-expression of miR-1280 had antiproliferative effects and impaired colony formation of bladder cancer cell lines. FACS (fluorescence activated cell sorting) analysis revealed that re-expression of miR-1280 in bladder cancer cells induced G2-M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that miR-1280 inhibited migration and invasion of bladder cancer cell lines. miR-1280 also attenuated ROCK1 and RhoC protein expression. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that oncogene ROCK1 is a direct target of miR-1280 in bladder cancer. This study also indicates that miR-1280 may be of diagnostic and prognostic importance in bladder cancer. For instance, ROC analysis showed that miR-1280 expression can distinguish between malignant and normal bladder cancer cases and Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with miR-1280 high expression had higher overall survival compared to those with low miR-1280 expression. In conclusion, this is the first study to document that miR-1280 functions as a tumor suppressor by targeting oncogene ROCK1 to invasion/migration and metastasis. Various compounds are currently being used as ROCK1 inhibitors; therefore restoration of tumor suppressor miR-1280 might be therapeutically useful either alone or in combination with these compounds in the treatment of bladder cancer.     

Integrins: regulators of embryogenesis

Integrins are heterodimeric transmembrane glycoproteins involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. They also participate in cytoskeletal rearrangements, co-regulation of growth factor activities and activation of signal transductions. This review describes experimental approaches that have given new insights into the integrin functions during embryogenesis. Using anti-functional antibodies, peptide inhibitors of integrin-ligand interactions and genetic ablation of integrins results, this review will show that integrins are key molecules during early development of both invertebrates and vertebrates.     

COX-2 Inhibition Combined with Radiation Reduces Orthotopic Glioma Outgrowth by Targeting the Tumor Vasculature

Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors have been shown to enhance tumor''s response to radiation in several animal models. The strong association of COX-2 and angiogenesis suggests that the tumor vasculature may be involved in this process. The current study investigated whether treatment with the COX-2 inhibitor E-6087 could influence response to local radiation in orthotopically growing murine gliomas and aimed to analyze the involvement of the tumor vasculature. GL261 glioma cells were injected into the cerebrum of C57bl/6 mice. From day 7 after tumor cell injection, mice were treated with COX-2 inhibitor at 50 mg/kg i.p. every third day. Radiation consisted of three fractions of 2 Gy given daily from day 9 to day 11. Mice were killed at day 21. The COX-2 inhibitor significantly enhanced the response to radiation, reducing mean volume to 32% of tumors treated with radiation only. The combination treatment neither increased apoptosis of tumor cells or stromal cells nor affected tumor microvascular density. In vitro, E-6087 and its active metabolite did not affect clonogenic survival of GL261 cells or human umbilical vein endothelial cell after radiation. In vivo, however, there was a nonsignificant increase in Angiopoietin (Ang)-1 and Tie-2 mRNA levels and a decrease of Ang-2 mRNA levels after combination treatment. These changes coincided with a significant increase in α-smooth muscle actin-positive pericyte coverage of tumor vessels. In conclusion, the antitumor effect of radiation on murine intracranial glioma growth is augmented by combining with COX-2 inhibition. Our findings suggest an involvement of the tumor vasculature in the observed effects.