Release of fibroblast growth factor-1 by human squamous cell carcinoma correlates with autocrine cell growth

Summary A squamous cell carcinoma cell line Nakata proliferated in serum-free culture and was not responsive to exogenous fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1). Immunostaining revealed that Nakata cells expressed FGF-1 in their cytoplasms and nuclei. Two molecular mass species of FGF-1 (16 and 18 kDa) were identified in cell extracts by Western blot. These cells also expressed high-affinity FGF-1 binding sites (Kd=360 pM, 28 000 sites/cell). The results of cross-linking with [¹²⁵I]FGF-1 demonstrated the presence of two bands with molecular masses of 160 and 140 kDa. The addition of FGF-1 specific antisense oligonucleotides at 25 μM to Nakata cells resulted in an 82% inhibition in cell growth and suppressed FGF-1 expression. This effect was dose-dependent and specific, because sense oligonucleotides were ineffective in inhibiting cell growth. In addition, Nakata cell growth was suppressed by an anti-FGF-1 neutralizing antibody, which resulted in a 52% inhibition at 8 μg/ml. These results demonstrate that Nakata cells produce FGF-1, and indicate that this growth factor acts in an autocrine manner by interacting with FGF-1 binding sites on Nakata cells.     

MiR-1204 promotes ovarian squamous cell carcinoma growth by increasing glucose uptake

MiR-1204 has been recently identified as an oncogenic miRNA in breast cancer. Our study aims to investigate the role of miR-1204 in ovarian squamous cell carcinoma. Expression of miR-1204 and glucose transporter 1 in ovarian biopsies and plasma of both OC patients and healthy controls was detected by qRT-PCR. Correlations between patients’ clinicopathological data were analyzed by Chi-square test. MiR-1204 overexpression OC cell lines were established. Expression of GLUT-1 protein was detected by western blot. Glucose uptake was measured by glucose uptake assay. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay. We found that miR-1204 expression was significantly correlated with tumor size. Expression levels of miR-1204 and GLUT-1 were significantly high in OC patients. Expression levels of miR-1204 were positively correlated with expression levels of GLUT-1 in OC patients. MiR-1204 overexpression significantly promoted GLUT-1 expression, glucose uptake and cell proliferation. MiR-1204 may promote ovarian squamous cell carcinoma growth by increasing glucose uptake.     

Focal adhesion complex proteins in epidermis and squamous cell carcinoma

Focal adhesions (FAs) are large, integrin-containing, multi-protein assemblies spanning the plasma membrane that link the cellular cytoskeleton to surrounding extracellular matrix. They play critical roles in adhesion and cell signaling and are major regulators of epithelial homeostasis, tissue response to injury, and tumorigenesis. Most integrin subunits and their associated FA proteins are expressed in skin, and murine genetic models have provided insight into the functional roles of FAs in normal and neoplastic epidermis. Here, we discuss the roles of these proteins in normal epidermal proliferation, adhesion, wound healing, and cancer. While many downstream signaling mechanisms remain unclear, the critically important roles of FAs are highlighted by the development of therapeutics targeting FAs for human cancer.     

Gli1 interacts with YAP1 to promote tumorigenesis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the predominant esophageal cancer type in China. The aberrant activation of glioma-associated oncogene homolog1 (Gli1), a key factor in Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, has been found in esophageal carcinoma. Moreover, Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1), the major mediator of Hippo signaling pathway, has been linked to esophageal carcinoma progression. However, the precise roles and the underlying mechanism of both Gli1 and YAP1 in ESCC are unclear. Here, we found that Gli1 and YAP1 are overexpressed in ESCC and are associated with poor prognosis. In addition, we confirmed that knockdown of Gli1 or YAP1 suppresses ESCC cell growth, migration, and invasion in ESCC TE1 and EC109 cells. Significantly, Gli1 interacts with YAP1 in ESCC cells. Both Gli1 and YAP1 proteins are closely correlated with each other in human ESCC samples. Mechanistically, Gli1 upregulates YAP1 in a LATS1-independent manner. Conversely, YAP1 induces Gli1 by regulating phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling pathway. Most importantly, we demonstrated that the interaction between Gli1 and YAP1 promotes ESCC tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Our findings established a novel signaling mechanism by which the interaction between Gli1 and YAP1 promotes ESCC cell growth. This signaling regulation of the tumorigenesis provides a new therapeutic strategy for highly lethal ESCC.     

Nucleolar spindle-associated protein 1 promotes tumorigenesis and predicts poor prognosis in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The microtubule binding protein, nucleolar spindle-associated protein 1 (NUSAP1), has a crucial function in mitosis and its expression is closely associated with carcinogenesis. Herein, we aimed to determine the function of NUSAP1 in the development of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and the association of NUSAP1 expression with ESCC. Immunohistochemical staining of ESCC tissue sections indicated that NUSAP1 was expressed to a higher degree in tumor tissues than in adjacent nontumor tissues. NUSAP1 levels were relevant closely to histological differentiation (P = 0.049). Overall survival was longer in patients with lower NUSAP1 levels ( P < 0.001). NUSAP1 expression ( P = 0.002), histological differentiation ( P < 0.001), tumor depth ( P = 0.045), lymph node metastases ( P < 0.001), and tumor-node-metastasis staging ( P = 0.008) were greatly associated with overall survival using univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis suggested that histological differentiation ( P = 0.014) and NUSAP1 expression ( P = 0.026) could be independent prognostic markers for ESCC. Additionally, the biological behavior of ESCC cells was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Suppression of NUSAP1 inhibited cellular proliferation and invasion, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro. More importantly, knockdown of NUSAP1 led to inhibition of tumor formation in nude mice. These findings indicated that NUSAP1 is a potential prognostic biomarker in ESCC, and is an ESCC oncogene. Thus, NUSAP1 could represent a therapeutic target for ESCC.     

Ivermectin suppresses tumour growth and metastasis through degradation of PAK1 in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the most common form of oesophageal malignancies in the Asia‐Pacific region, remains a major clinical challenge. In this study, we found that ivermectin, an effective antiparasitic drug that has been approved for patients to orally treat onchocerciasis for over 30 years, displayed potent antitumour activity against ESCC cells in vitro and in nude mice. We demonstrated that ivermectin significantly inhibited cell viability and colony formation, and induced apoptosis through a mitochondrial‐dependent manner in ESCC cells. Ivermectin also abrogated ESCC cell migration, invasion, as well as the protein levels of MMP‐2 and MMP‐9. Mechanistically, ivermectin strongly inhibited the expression of PAK1; by further gain‐ and loss‐of‐function experiments, we confirmed that PAK1 played a crucial role in ivermectin‐mediated inhibitory effects on ESCC cells. In addition, the data indicated that ivermectin promoted PAK1 degradation through the proteasome‐dependent pathway. Additionally, ivermectin synergized with chemotherapeutic drugs including cisplatin and 5‐fluorouracil to induce apoptosis of ESCC cells. Interestingly, the in vivo experiments also confirmed that ivermectin effectively suppressed tumour growth and lung metastasis of ESCC. Collectively, these results indicate that ivermectin exerts a potent antitumour activity against ESCC and is a promising therapeutic candidate drug for ESCC patients, even those carrying metastasis.     

NUMB在口腔白斑和鳞癌中的表达变化及意义

目的:研究NUMB在口腔白斑和鳞癌中的表达及意义。方法:采用免疫组织化学法检测88例口腔正常黏膜、口腔白斑及口腔鳞癌石蜡包埋组织中NUMB蛋白的表达。结果:NUMB在口腔正常黏膜(95.7%)、口腔白斑(75%)及口腔鳞癌(4.7%)中均有阳性表达但是表达频率依次降低。NUMB在各个组中的阳性表达率具有统计学差异(P0.05)。结论NUMB阳性表达率随口腔组织恶性程度增高而减少的趋势提示该基因可能在口腔正常黏膜到口腔白斑再到口腔鳞癌的转化中起作用,NUMB有可能成为早期发现癌变的分子生物学标志之一。     

Silencing HMGN5 suppresses cell growth and promotes chemosensitivity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Previous study has demonstrated that high mobility group nucleosome‐binding domain 5 (HMGN5) is involved in tumorigenesis and the development of multidrug resistance in several human cancers. However, the role of HMGN5 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. Here, we showed that HMGN5 was significantly upregulated in ESCC cells. Knockdown of HMGN5 significantly inhibited cell growth and induced cell apoptosis of ESCC cells. Moreover, knockdown of HMGN5 increased the sensitivity of ESCC cells towards cisplatin. By contrast, overexpression of HMGN5 showed the opposite effects. Further experiments demonstrated that HMGN5 regulated the expression of multidrug resistance 1, cyclin B1, and Bcl‐2. Overall, our results reveal that HMGN5 promotes tumor progression of ESCC and is also an important regulator of chemoresistance. Our study suggests that inhibition of HMGN5 may be a potential strategy for improving effectiveness of ESCC treatment.     

TOFA对人食管鳞癌Eca109和KYSE-450细胞生长的影响*

目的: 探讨5-十四烷氧基-2-呋喃酸(TOFA)对人食管鳞癌(ESCC)细胞Eca109和KYSE-450细胞增殖、周期和凋亡的影响。方法: 将Eca-109细胞和KYSE-450细胞分为对照组(DMSO)和实验组(TOFA),细胞(4×10³ cells/100 μl)接种于96孔板中,每个浓度设置5个复孔,培养24 h后,给予DMSO(对照)和不同浓度(1、3、5、10 μg/ml)TOFA处理,继续培养24、48和72 h;MTT检测细胞增殖,流式细胞术检测细胞周期和凋亡,Western blot检测p21、Cleaved caspase-3表达水平及p-AKT、p-mTOR、p-4EBP1修饰水平,专用试剂盒检测细胞内游离脂肪酸。结果: 与DMSO组比较,TOFA以浓度和时间依赖性方式抑制Eca109和KYSE-450细胞增殖(P均<0.05),处理48 h的IC₅₀分别为4.65和3.93 μg / ml;实验组细胞G2 / M 期细胞百分比增加,细胞凋亡率增高,p21、Cleaved caspase-3蛋白表达水平上调(P均<0.05),p-AKT、p-mTOR、p-4EBP1修饰水平下调(P均<0.05)。结论: TOFA抑制人食管鳞癌细胞增殖、阻滞细胞周期并促进细胞凋亡,其机制可能与其抑制AKT/mTOR/4EBP1信号通路有关。     

Porphyromonas gingivalis in oral squamous cell carcinoma: a review

Oral cancer contributes significantly to the global cancer burden. Oral bacteria play an important role in the spread of oral cancer, according to mounting evidence. The most proven instance is the carcinogenic implications of Porphyromonas gingivalis, a key pathogen in chronic periodontitis. It is imperative to understand the pathogenesis of P. gingivalis in OSCC. This review aims to gather and assess scientific shreds of evidence on the involvement of P. gingivalis in the molecular mechanism of oral squamous cell carcinoma.     

SUZ12 is a novel putative oncogene promoting tumorigenesis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The suppressor of zest 12 (SUZ12), one of the core polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) components, has increasingly appreciated as a key mediator during human tumorigenesis. However, its expression pattern and oncogenic roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain largely unexplored yet. Here, we sought to determine its expression pattern, clinicopathological significance and biological roles in HNSCC. Through data mining and interrogation from multiple publicly available databases, our bioinformatics analyses revealed that SUZ12 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in multiple HNSCC patient cohorts. Moreover, SUZ12 protein was markedly up‐regulated in primary HNSCC samples from our patient cohort as assessed by immunohistochemical staining and its overexpression significantly associated with cervical node metastasis and reduced overall and disease‐free survival. In the 4‐nitroquinoline 1‐oxide (4NQO)‐induced HNSCC mouse model, increased SUZ12 immunostaining was observed along with disease progression from epithelial hyperplasia to squamous cell carcinoma in tongue. Furthermore, shRNA‐mediated SUZ12 knock‐down significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HNSCC cells, and resulted in compromised tumour growth in vivo. Collectively, our data reveal that SUZ12 might serve as a putative oncogene by promoting cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and also a novel biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic significance for HNSCC.     

Exploring and comparing of the gene expression and methylation differences between lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma

Lung cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumors and the main reason for cancer-related death around the world, whereas nonsmall cell lung cancer that consists two subtypes: lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is responsible for an estimated 85% of all lung cancers. The current study aimed to explore gene expression and methylation differences between LUAD and LUSC. EdgeR was used to identify differentially regulated genes between normal and cancer in the LUAD and LUSC extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), respectively, whereas SAM was used to find genes with differential methylation between normal and cancer in the LUAD and LUSC, respectively. Finally, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis was performed to analyze the function which these genes enriched in. A total of 391 genes with opposite methylation patterns in LUAD and LUSC and four functional pathways were obtained (false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.1). These pathways mainly included fat digestion and absorption, phenylalanine metabolism, bile secretion, and so on, which were related to the airframe nutrition metabolic pathway. Moreover, two genes CTSE (cathepsin E) and solute carrier family 5 member 7 (SLC5A7) were also found, among which CTSE was overexpressed and hypomethylated in LUAD corresponding to normal lung tissues, whereas SLC5A7 showed the opposite in LUAD. In conclusion, this study investigated the differences between the gene expression and methylation patterns in LUAD and LUSC, and explored their different biological characteristics. Further understanding of these differences may promote the discovery and development of new, accurate strategies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer.     

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of PD-1/PD-L1 axis expression in patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is more aggressive than other head and neck tumors, and the prognosis for patients with advanced TSCC is poor. At present, comprehensive treatment based on surgery as the main method is not effective for patients with advanced TSCC. The application of PD-1/PD-L1 immunocheckpoint inhibitor alone in patients with TSCC has not been reported. To explore the role of PD-1/PD-L1, we investigated the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in TSCC and analyzed the relationship between the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 and the related clinicopathological parameters and survival prognosis. The expression of PD-1 was significantly associated with palindromia (p = .015) and maximum diameter (p = .043). The expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells was significantly associated with N stage (P = .024), chemotherapy (p = .032), and clinical stage (p = .019). The expression of PD-L1 in infiltrating lymphocytes was significantly associated with palindromia (p = .030). Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses for prognoses of patients showed significant prognostic factors of overall survival and relapse-free survival. The high expression of PD-L1 on infiltrating lymphocytes for OS and RFS was an independent protective factor for patients with TSCC. The high expression of PD-1 on infiltrating lymphocytes and clinical stage for OS and RFS were independent risk factors for patients with TSCC. The data provide a reference for clinical treatment of TSCC with immunotherapy.     

Proliferation and differnetiation of human squamous carcinoma cell lines and normal keratinocytes: Effects of epidermal growth factor,retinoids, and hydrocortisone

Summary Exposure of squamous carcinoma cell (SCC) lines, exhibiting high levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors, to EGF for 6 d caused a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. This EGF-induced inhibition of cell proliferation occurred under both low (0.06 mM) and normal (1.6 mM) Ca²⁺ concentrations. Furthermore, the extent of EGF-induced inhibition of cell proliferation seemed to be independent of the number of EGF-receptors. This conclusion is based on the notion that the various SCC lines exhibited an increasing number of EGF receptors accompanied by a decreasing ability to differentiate, whereas no relationship was observed with the EGF-induced inhibition of cell proliferation in these cell lines. Retinoids caused also a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. The effects of EGF and retinoids were additive, indicating that different regulatory mechanisms are involved. On the other hand, hydrocortisone caused a stimulation of SCC-proliferation, also independent of EGF. In contrast to SCC cells, EGF did not affect significantly the rate of proliferation of normal keratinocytes. However, the simultaneous addition of EGF and hydrocortisone resulted in a significant increase in the rate of keratinocyte proliferation only in cells grown under normal calcium conditions. Differentiation capacity of normal keratinocytes and SCC lines was not affected by EGF. Furthermore, the retinoid-induced decrease and hydrocortisone-induced increase of competence of cells to form cornified envelopes was not affected by EGF. These observations suggest that the action of retinoids and hydrocortisone on both cell proliferation and cell differentiation occurs independently of EGF receptors. This work was partly supported by The Netherlands Cancer Foundation (Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds), grant IKW 85–71.     

肺鳞状细胞癌发生的早期标志物及肿瘤预测模型

选取癌症基因组图谱数据库的肺鳞状细胞癌(Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma,LUSC)样本作为数据集,在全基因组的水平上研究肺鳞状细胞癌病人从正常到发病I期基因表达的变化,寻找与LUSC发病密切相关的早期标志物,并建立一种基于早期标志基因的肿瘤预测模型。方法 采用模式识别分类法和基因通路和功能分析相结合的筛选方法,对LUSC的早期标志物进行识别,并运用Fisher判别建立肿瘤预测模型。得到12个LUSC的早期标志物,分别是CLDN18, CD34, ESAM, JAM2, CDH5, F11, F8, CFD, MRC1, MARCO, SFTPA2 和 SFTPA1,机器学习建模后对LUSC早期癌症样本和正常肺组织样本的分类精度达到了98%以上。由基因SFTPA1和ESAM建立的LUSC早期肿瘤预测模型,对正常肺组织和LUSC肿瘤Ⅰ期样本的分类敏感性和特异性分别为99.18%和100%,并且独立验证集的分类准确率也在90%以上。结论 筛选出的12个早期分子标志物有望成为LUSC诊断的标志分子,并且建立的肿瘤预测模型具有极高的准确性,可以为LUSC的发生机理研究以及早期肿瘤预测提供帮助。     

Identification of lncRNA‐associated differential subnetworks in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma by differential co‐expression analysis

Differential expression analysis has led to the identification of important biomarkers in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Despite enormous contributions, it has not harnessed the full potential of gene expression data, such as interactions among genes. Differential co‐expression analysis has emerged as an effective tool that complements differential expression analysis to provide better insight of dysregulated mechanisms and indicate key driver genes. Here, we analysed the differential co‐expression of lncRNAs and protein‐coding genes (PCGs) between normal oesophageal tissue and ESCC tissues, and constructed a lncRNA‐PCG differential co‐expression network (DCN). DCN was characterized as a scale‐free, small‐world network with modular organization. Focusing on lncRNAs, a total of 107 differential lncRNA‐PCG subnetworks were identified from the DCN by integrating both differential expression and differential co‐expression. These differential subnetworks provide a valuable source for revealing lncRNA functions and the associated dysfunctional regulatory networks in ESCC. Their consistent discrimination suggests that they may have important roles in ESCC and could serve as robust subnetwork biomarkers. In addition, two tumour suppressor genes (AL121899.1 and ELMO2), identified in the core modules, were validated by functional experiments. The proposed method can be easily used to investigate differential subnetworks of other molecules in other cancers.