N′-[4-(dipropylamino)benzylidene]-2-hydroxybenzohydrazide is a dynamin GTPase inhibitor that suppresses cancer cell migration and invasion by inhibiting actin polymerization

Dynasore, a specific dynamin GTPase inhibitor, suppresses lamellipodia formation and cancer cell invasion by destabilizing actin filaments. In search for novel dynamin inhibitors that suppress actin dynamics more efficiently, dynasore analogues were screened. N′-[4-(dipropylamino)benzylidene]-2-hydroxybenzohydrazide (DBHA) markedly reduced in vitro actin polymerization, and dose-dependently inhibited phosphatidylserine-stimulated dynamin GTPase activity. DBHA significantly suppressed both the recruitment of dynamin 2 to the leading edge in U2OS cells and ruffle formation in H1299 cells. Furthermore, DBHA suppressed both the migration and invasion of H1299 cells by approximately 70%. Furthermore, intratumoral DBHA delivery significantly repressed tumor growth. DBHA was much less cytotoxic than dynasore. These results strongly suggest that DBHA inhibits dynamin-dependent actin polymerization by altering the interactions between dynamin and lipid membranes. DBHA and its derivative may be potential candidates for potent anti-cancer drugs.     

Marine algal fucoxanthin inhibits the metastatic potential of cancer cells

Metastasis is major cause of malignant cancer-associated mortality. Fucoxanthin has effect on various pharmacological activities including anti-cancer activity. However, the inhibitory effect of fucoxanthin on cancer metastasis remains unclear. Here, we show that fucoxanthin isolated from brown alga Saccharina japonica has anti-metastatic activity. To check anti-metastatic properties of fucoxanthin, in vitro models including assays for invasion, migration, actin fiber organization and cancer cell–endothelial cell interaction were used. Fucoxanthin inhibited the expression and secretion of MMP-9 which plays a critical role in tumor invasion and migration, and also suppressed invasion of highly metastatic B16-F10 melanoma cells as evidenced by transwell invasion assay. In addition, fucoxanthin diminished the expressions of the cell surface glycoprotein CD44 and CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) which play roles in migration, invasion and cancer–endothelial cell adhesion. Fucoxanthin markedly suppressed cell migration in wound healing assay and inhibited actin fiber formation. The adhesion of B16-F10 melanoma cells to the endothelial cells was significantly inhibited by fucoxanthin. Moreover, in experimental lung metastasis in vivo assay, fucoxanthin resulted in significant reduction of tumor nodules. Taken together, we demonstrate, for the first time, that fucoxanthin suppresses metastasis of highly metastatic B16-F10 melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo.     

Tetramethoxychalcone,a Chalcone Derivative,Suppresses Proliferation,Blocks Cell Cycle Progression,and Induces Apoptosis of Human Ovarian Cancer Cells

In the present study, we investigated the in vitro antitumor functions of a synthetic chalcone derivative 4,3′,4′,5′- tetramethoxychalcone (TMOC) in ovarian cancer cells. We found that TMOC inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of cisplatin sensitive cell line A2780 and resistant cell line A2780/CDDP, as well as ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Treatment of A2780 cells with TMOC resulted in G₀/G₁ cell cycle arrest through the down-regulation of cyclin D1 and CDK4, and the up-regulation of p16, p21 and p27 proteins. We demonstrated that TMOC might induce cell apoptosis through suppressing Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, but enhancing the expression of Bax and the cleavage of PARP-1. Treatment of TMOC also reduced the invasion and migration of A2780 cells. Finally, we found that TMOC inhibited the constitutive activation of STAT3 signaling pathway and induced the expression of the tumor suppressor PTEN regardless of the p53 status in cell lines. These data suggest that TMOC may be developed as a potential chemotherapeutic agent to effectively treat certain cancers including ovarian cancer.     

苯胺嘧啶衍生物X-9通过下调整合素β1表达抑制肝细胞癌迁移侵袭

整合素在许多肿瘤细胞中高表达,并且参与肿瘤细胞的侵袭转移。在肝细胞癌中,整合素β1被报导高表达,并促进肿瘤细胞的侵袭。目前,对于整合素的表达调控癌细胞机制以及干预其表达进而抑制肿瘤细胞转移的研究较少。本研究探讨利用小分子化合物抑制整合素表达来抑制肿瘤细胞迁移和侵袭的可能。首先,对临床肝癌细胞患者癌组织和癌旁组织中的整合素β1的表达进行检测,发现其在癌组织中的表达显著高于癌旁组织（P<0.05）。对TCGA肿瘤数据库的生物信息学分析结果同样显示,整合素β1的高表达与肝癌的分期（P=0.019）和预后（P=0.013）相关。通过筛选发现,苯胺嘧啶衍生物X09可以抑制肝癌细胞中整合素β1的mRNA和蛋白质的表达（P<0.01）。细胞划痕愈合实验和细胞穿孔实验结果显示,苯胺嘧啶衍生物X-9能够抑制肝癌细胞的迁移和侵袭（P<0.01）。进一步的研究证实,在肝癌细胞中外源表达整合素β1可以逆转X-9对肝癌细胞迁移和侵袭的抑制;而在敲低整合素β1的细胞中,X-9对细胞的迁移和侵袭的抑制被消除。因此,鉴定出苯胺嘧啶衍生物X-9可以通过下调整合素β1表达,进而抑制肝癌细胞的迁移和侵袭。     

苯胺嘧啶衍生物X-9通过下调整合素β1表达抑制肝细胞癌迁移侵袭

整合素在许多肿瘤细胞中高表达,并且参与肿瘤细胞的侵袭转移。在肝细胞癌中,整合素β1被报导高表达,并促进肿瘤细胞的侵袭。目前,对于整合素的表达调控癌细胞机制以及干预其表达进而抑制肿瘤细胞转移的研究较少。本研究探讨利用小分子化合物抑制整合素表达来抑制肿瘤细胞迁移和侵袭的可能。首先,对临床肝癌细胞患者癌组织和癌旁组织中的整合素β1的表达进行检测,发现其在癌组织中的表达显著高于癌旁组织（P<0.05）。对TCGA肿瘤数据库的生物信息学分析结果同样显示,整合素β1的高表达与肝癌的分期（P=0.019）和预后（P=0.013）相关。通过筛选发现,苯胺嘧啶衍生物X09可以抑制肝癌细胞中整合素β1的mRNA和蛋白质的表达（P<0.01）。细胞划痕愈合实验和细胞穿孔实验结果显示,苯胺嘧啶衍生物X-9能够抑制肝癌细胞的迁移和侵袭（P<0.01）。进一步的研究证实,在肝癌细胞中外源表达整合素β1可以逆转X-9对肝癌细胞迁移和侵袭的抑制;而在敲低整合素β1的细胞中,X-9对细胞的迁移和侵袭的抑制被消除。因此,鉴定出苯胺嘧啶衍生物X-9可以通过下调整合素β1表达,进而抑制肝癌细胞的迁移和侵袭。     

Suppression of Tumor Growth by Pleurotus ferulae Ethanol Extract through Induction of Cell Apoptosis,and Inhibition of Cell Proliferation and Migration

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Edible medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine as regimes for cancer patients. Recently anti-cancer bioactive components from some mushrooms have been isolated and their anti-cancer effects have been tested. Pleurotus ferulae, a typical edible medicinal mushroom in Xinjiang China, has also been used to treat cancer patients in folk medicine. However, little studies have been reported on the anti-cancer components of Pleurotus ferulae. This study aims to extract bioactive components from Pleurotus ferulae and to investigate the anti-cancer effects of the extracts. We used ethanol to extract anti-cancer bioactive components enriched with terpenoids from Pleurotus ferulae. We tested the anti-tumour effects of ethanol extracts on the melanoma cell line B16F10, the human gastric cancer cell line BGC 823 and the immortalized human gastric epithelial mucosa cell line GES-1 in vitro and a murine melanoma model in vivo. Cell toxicity and cell proliferation were measured by MTT assays. Cell cycle progression, apoptosis, caspase 3 activity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), migration and gene expression were studied in vitro. PFEC suppressed tumor cell growth, inhibited cell proliferation, arrested cells at G0/G1 phases and was not toxic to non-cancer cells. PFEC also induced cell apoptosis and necrosis, increased caspase 3 activity, reduced the MMP, prevented cell invasion and changed the expression of genes associated with apoptosis and the cell cycle. PFEC delayed tumor formation and reduced tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, ethanol extracted components from Pleurotus ferulae exert anti-cancer effects through direct suppression of tumor cell growth and invasion, demonstrating its therapeutic potential in cancer treatment.     

TRPM2-AS inhibits the growth,migration, and invasion of gliomas through JNK,c-Jun,and RGS4

Gliomas are a group of brain cancers with high mortality and morbidity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms is important for the prevention or treatment of gliomas. The present study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of long noncoding RNA TRPM2-AS in gliomas proliferation, migration, and invasion. We first compared the levels of TRPM2-AS in 111 patients with glioma to that of the normal control group by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated a significant increase of TRPM2-AS in patients with glioma (2.43 folds of control, p = .0135). MTT methods, wound healing assays, transwell analysis, and clone formation analysis indicated the overexpression of TRPM2-AS promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of U251 and U87 cells, while downregulation of TRPM2-AS inhibited the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion significantly (p < .05). To further uncover the mechanisms, bioinformatics analysis was conducted on the expression profiles, GSE40687 and GSE4290, from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. One hundred fifty-six genes were differentially expressed in both datasets (FC > 2.0; p = .05). Among these differentially expressed genes, the level of RGS4 messenger RNA was drastically regulated by TRPM2-AS. Further western-blot analysis indicated the increase of RGS4 protein expression and decrease of p-JNK/JNK and p-c-Jun/c-Jun ratio after TRPM2-AS overexpression. On the other hand, inhibition of TRPM2-AS by small interfering RNA suppressed the expression of RGS4 and promoted the ratios of p-JNK/JNK and p-c-Jun/c-Jun. The present work indicated the mechanisms of the participation of TRPM2-AS in the progression of gliomas might, at least partly, be related to JNK, c-Jun, and RGS4. Our work provided new insights into the underlying mechanisms of glioma cellular functions.     

Loss of brain-enriched miR-124 microRNA enhances stem-like traits and invasiveness of glioma cells

miR-124 is a brain-enriched microRNA that plays a crucial role in neural development and has been shown to be down-regulated in glioma and medulloblastoma, suggesting its possible involvement in brain tumor progression. Here, we show that miR-124 is down-regulated in a panel of different grades of glioma tissues and in all of the human glioma cell lines we examined. By integrated bioinformatics analysis and experimental confirmation, we identified SNAI2, which is often up-regulated in glioma, as a direct functional target of miR-124. Because SNAI2 has been shown to regulate stem cell functions, we examined the roles of miR-124 and SNAI2 in glioma cell stem-like traits. The results showed that overexpression of miR-124 and knockdown of SNAI2 reduced neurosphere formation, CD133(+) cell subpopulation, and stem cell marker (BMI1, Nanog, and Nestin) expression, and these effects could be rescued by re-expression of SNAI2. Furthermore, enhanced miR-124 expression significantly inhibited glioma cell invasion in vitro. Finally, stable overexpression of miR-124 and knockdown of SNAI2 inhibited the tumorigenicity and invasion of glioma cells in vivo. These findings reveal, for the first time, that the tumor suppressor activity of miR-124 could be partly due to its inhibitory effects on glioma stem-like traits and invasiveness through SNAI2.     

The Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor SWAP-70 Modulates the Migration and Invasiveness of Human Malignant Glioma Cells

The malignant glioma is the most common primary human brain tumor. Its tendency to invade away from the primary tumor mass is considered a leading cause of tumor recurrence and treatment failure. Accordingly, the molecular pathogenesis of glioma invasion is currently under investigation. Previously, we examined a gene expression array database comparing human gliomas to nonneoplastic controls and identified several Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factors with differential expression. Here, we report that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor SWAP-70 has increased expression in malignant gliomas and strongly correlates with lowered patient survival. SWAP-70 is a multifunctional signaling protein involved in membrane ruffling that works cooperatively with activated Rac. Using a glioma tissue microarray, we validated that SWAP-70 demonstrates higher expression in malignant gliomas compared with low-grade gliomas or nonneoplastic brain tissue. Through immunofluorescence, SWAP-70 localizes to membrane ruffles in response to the growth factor, epidermal growth factor. To assess the role of SWAP-70 in glioma migration and invasion, we inhibited its expression withsmall interfering RNAs and observed decreased glioma cell migration and invasion. SWAP-70 overexpression led to increased levels of active Rac even in low-serum conditions. In addition, when SWAP-70 was overexpressed in glioma cells, we observed enhanced membrane ruffle formation followed by increased cellmigration and invasiveness. Taken together, our findings suggest that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor SWAP-70 plays an important role in the migration and invasion of human gliomas into the surrounding tissue.     

4-1BBL通过激活Wnt/β-catenin信号通路促进人胃癌细胞的增殖和迁移

4-1BB和4-1BB配体(4-1BBL),又被称为CD137和CD137配体,分别属于肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)受体和配体家族的成员。4-1BBL 与4-1BB相互作用可以激活T细胞免疫应答。因此,4-1BBL一直在抗肿瘤免疫应答中发挥经典的免疫共刺激分子作用。近期研究发现,4-1BBL在肿瘤细胞中另有其他的生物学功能,但4-1BBL在胃癌进展过程中的功能尚不明确。本文探讨了4-1BBL在人胃癌细胞中的生物学功能和分子作用机制。首先,通过检索TCGA和Kaplan Meier plotter数据库发现,4-1BBL在胃癌组织中的表达显著高于癌旁组织（P<0.001）,且4-1BBL的高表达与胃癌的不良预后正相关（P<0.05）。细胞生物学的结果显示,敲除4-1BBL明显抑制胃癌细胞的增殖（P<0.05）、侵袭和迁移（P<0.05）,促进胃癌细胞的凋亡（P<0.05）;另外,蛋白质免疫印迹结果表明,敲除4-1BBL可使β-联蛋白、c-Myc和细胞周期蛋白D1(cyclin D1)的蛋白质表达水平下降,抑制Wnt/β-catenin信号通路。相反,过表达4-1BBL则显著促进胃癌细胞增殖（P<0.05）、侵袭和迁移（P<0.05）,减少胃癌细胞的凋亡（P<0.05）;且过表达4-1BBL促进β-联蛋白(β-catenin)、c-Myc和细胞周期蛋白D1的蛋白质表达,激活Wnt/β-catenin信号通路。综上所述,4-1BBL可通过激活Wnt/β-catenin信号通路促进人胃癌细胞的增殖和迁移。     

Hyaluronic acid engrafted metformin loaded graphene oxide nanoparticle as CD44 targeted anti-cancer therapy for triple negative breast cancer

BackgroundTriple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive form of breast cancer with limited treatment modalities. It is associated with high propensity of cancer recurrence.MethodsUV Spectroscopy, FTIR, DLS, Zeta potential, TEM and SEM were employed to characterize nanoparticles. MTT assay, Wound healing assay, SEM, Immunocytochemistry analysis, Western blot, RT-PCR, mammosphere formation assay were employed to study apoptosis, cell migration and stemness. Tumor regression was studied in chick embryo xenograft and BALB/c mice model.ResultsHylaluronic acid engrafted metformin loaded graphene oxide (HA-GO-Met) nanoparticles exhibited an anti-cancer efficacy at much lower dosage as compared to metformin alone. HA-GO-Met nanoparticles induced apoptosis and inhibited cell migration of TNBC cells by targeting miR-10b/PTEN axis via NFkB-p65. Upregulation of PTEN affected pAKT(473) expression that induced apoptosis. Cell migration was inhibited by reduction of pFAK/integrinβ1 expressions. Treatment inhibited epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and reduced stemness as evident from the increase in E-cadherin expression, inhibition of mammosphere formation and low expression levels of stemness markers including nanog, oct4 and sox2 as compared to control. Moreover, tumor regression was studied in chick embryo xenograft and BALB/c mice model. HA-GO-Met nanoparticle treatment reduced tumor load and nullified toxicity in peripheral organs imparted by tumor.ConclusionsHA-GO-Met nanoparticles exhibited an enormous anti-cancer efficacy in TNBC in vitro and in vivo.General significanceHA-GO-Met nanoparticles induced apoptosis and attenuated cell migration in TNBC. It nullified overall toxicity imparted by tumor load. It inhibited EMT and reduced stemness and thereby addressed the issue of cancer recurrence.     

miR-613通过靶向VEGFA抑制神经胶质瘤细胞的增殖、侵袭和血管生成

摘要 目的：旨在探究miR-613在胶质瘤中的表达及对细胞增殖、侵袭和血管生成的影响。方法：根据细胞转染将实验分组为对照miRNA组（Control组）、miR-613模拟物组（mimics组）和miR-613 mimics+VEGFA组（VEGFA组）。采用逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）检测胶质瘤细胞和组织中miR-613和VEGFA mRNA的表达水平;采用荧光素酶报告基因分析miR-613与血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的关系;采用Western blotting检测VEGFA蛋白的表达水平;通过体外实验检测转染细胞的增殖能力、侵袭能力和管状形成能力。结果：与正常组织样本相比,胶质瘤I-II期组样本的肿瘤细胞呈现异形,具有深核染色,并且肿瘤细胞密度适度较低,而胶质瘤III-IV期组样本的肿瘤细胞的核分裂活跃,具有明显的微血管增殖和明显的细胞异型性;miR-613在胶质瘤I-IV期组织样本中显著降低（P<0.05）。在U87和U251细胞系的VEGFA-WT组中,与Control组相比,mimics组的荧光素酶活性显著降低（P<0.05）。与Control组相比,U87和U251细胞系中mimics组VEGFA的mRNA和蛋白表达水平均显著降低（P<0.05）。克隆形成实验、血管生成实验和细胞侵袭实验结果表明,与Control组相比,mimics组的克隆形成数量、细胞侵袭数、内皮细胞HUVEC的管状形成数和Ang-2蛋白表达水平均显著降低（P<0.05）;与mimics组相比,VEGFA组克隆形成数量、细胞侵袭数、内皮细胞HUVEC的管状形成数和Ang-2蛋白表达水平均显著升高（P<0.05）。结论：miR-613通过靶向VEGFA抑制了神经胶质瘤细胞的侵袭、增殖和血管生成,提示miR-613可能成为未来治疗胶质瘤的潜在靶点。     

BRMS1 Suppresses Glioma Progression by Regulating Invasion,Migration and Adhesion of Glioma Cells

Breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1 (BRMS1) is a metastasis suppressor gene in several solid tumors. However, the expression and function of BRMS1 in glioma have not been reported. In this study, we investigated whether BRMS1 play a role in glioma pathogenesis. Using the tissue microarray technology, we found that BRMS1 expression is significantly decreased in glioma compared with tumor adjacent normal brain tissue (P<0.01, χ² test) and reduced BRMS1 staining is associated with WHO stages (P<0.05, χ² test). We also found that BRMS1 was significantly downregulated in glioma cell lines compared to normal human astrocytes (P<0.01, χ² test). Furthermore, we demonstrated that BRMS1 overexpression inhibited glioma cell invasion by suppressing uPA, NF-κB, MMP-2 expression and MMP-2 enzyme activity. Moreover, our data showed that overexpression of BRMS1 inhibited glioma cell migration and adhesion capacity compared with the control group through the Src-FAK pathway. Taken together, this study suggested that BRMS1 has a role in glioma development and progression by regulating invasion, migration and adhesion activities of cancer cells.     

microRNA-124 Inhibits Migration and Invasion by Down-Regulating ROCK1 in Glioma

Background

The extraordinary invasive capability is a major cause of treatment failure and tumor recurrence in glioma, however, the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing glioma invasion remain poorly understood. Evidence in other cell systems has implicated the regulatory role of microRNA in cell motility and invasion, which promotes us to investigate the biological functions of miR-124 in glioma in this regard.

Results

We have found that miR-124 is dramatically downregulated in clinical specimen of glioma and is negatively correlated with the tumor pathological grading in the current study. The cells transfected by miR-124 expression vector have demonstrated retarded cell mobility. Using a bioinformatics analysis approach, rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), a well-known cell mobility-related gene, has been identified as the target of miR-124. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm that miR-124 targeted directly the 3′UTR of ROCK1 gene and repressed the ROCK1 expression in U87MG human glioma cell line. Furthermore, experiments have shown that the decreased cell mobility was due to the actin cytoskeleton rearrangements and the reduced cell surface ruffle in U87MG glioma cells. These results are similar to the cellular responses of U87MG glioma cells to the treatment of Y-27632, an inhibitor of ROCK protein. Moreover, a constitutively active ROCK1 in miR-124 over-expressed glioma cells reversed the effects of miR-124. Our results revealed a novel mechanism that miR-124 inhibits glioma cells migration and invasion via ROCK1 downregulation.

Conclusions

These results suggest that miR-124 may function as anti-migration and anti-invasion influence in glioma and provides a potential approach for developing miR-124-based therapeutic strategies for malignant glioma therapy.     

Polarized Regulation of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Is Important for Glioma Cell Invasion

Glioma malignancy greatly depends on its aggressive invasion. The establishment of cell polarity is an important initial step for cell migration, which is essential for cell-directional translocation. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cell polarity formation in glioma cell invasion remains limited. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) has a critical role in the formation of cell polarity. We therefore investigated whether localized GSK-3β, a subtype of GSK-3, is important for glioma cell invasion. We reported here that the localized phosphorylation of GSK-3β at the Ser9 (pSer9-GSK-3β) was critical for glioma cell invasion. Scratching glioma cell monolayer up-regulated pSer9-GSK-3β specifically at the wound edge. Inhibition of GSK-3 impaired the cell polarity and reduced the directional persistence of cell migration. Consistently, down-regulation of GSK-3α and 3β by specific small interfering RNAs inhibited glioma cell invasion. Over-expressing wild-type or constitutively active forms of GSK-3β also inhibited the cell invasion. These results indicated the polarized localization of GSK-3 regulation in cell migration might be also important for glioma cell migration. Further, EGF regulated both GSK-3α and 3β, but only pSer9-GSK-3β was enriched at the leading edge of scratched glioma cells. Up- or down-regulation of GSK-3β inhibited EGF-stimulated cell invasion. Moreover, EGF specifically regulated GSK-3β, but not GSK-3α, through atypical PKC pathways. Our results indicated that GSK-3 was important for glioma cell invasion and localized inhibition of GSK-3β was critical for cell polarity formation.     

Long noncoding RNA FOXD2-AS1 promotes glioma malignancy and tumorigenesis via targeting miR-185-5p/CCND2 axis

Glioma is the most aggressive malignant tumor in the adult central nervous system. Abnormal long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) FOXD2-AS1 expression was associated with tumor development. However, the possible role of FOXD2-AS1 in the progression of glioma is not known. In the present study, we used in vitro and in vivo assays to investigate the effect of abnormal expression of FOXD2-AS1 on glioma progression and to explore the mechanisms. FOXD2-AS1 was upregulated in glioma tissue, cells, and sphere subpopulation. Upregulation of FOXD2-AS1 was correlated with poor prognosis of glioma. Downregulation of FOXD2-AS1 decreased cell proliferation, migration, invasion, stemness, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in glioma cells and inhibited tumor growth in transplanted tumor. We also revealed that FOXD2-AS1 was mainly located in cytoplasm and microRNA (miR)-185-5p both targeted FOXD2-AS1 and CCND2 messenger RNA (mRNA) 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR). miR-185-5p was downregulated in glioma tissue, cells, and sphere subpopulation. Downregulation of miR-185-5p was closely correlated with poor prognosis of glioma patients. In addition, miR-185-5p mimics decreased cell proliferation, migration, invasion, stemness, and EMT in glioma cells. CCND2 was upregulated in glioma tissue, cells, and sphere subpopulation. Upregulation of CCND2 was closely correlated with poor prognosis of glioma patients. CCND2 knockdown decreased cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT in glioma cells. In glioma tissues, CCND2 expression was negatively associated with miR-185-5p, but positively correlated with FOXD2-AS1. FOXD2-AS1 knockdown and miR-185-5p mimics decreased CCND2 expression. Inhibition of miR-185-5p suppressed FOXD2-AS1 knockdown-induced decrease of CCND2 expression. Overexpression of CCND2 suppressed FOXD2-AS1 knockdown-induced inhibition of glioma malignancy. Taken together, our findings highlight the FOXD2-AS1/miR-185-5p/CCND2 axis in the glioma development.     

Wogonin Suppresses Melanoma Cell B16-F10 Invasion and Migration by Inhibiting Ras-Medicated Pathways

The patients diagnosed with melanoma have a bad prognosis for early regional invasion and distant metastases. Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) is one of the active components of flavonoids that extracts from Scutellariae radix. Several previous studies reported that wogonin possesses antitumor effect against leukemia, gastrointestinal cancer and breast cancer. In this study, we used melanoma cell B16-F10 to further investigate the anti-invasive and anti-migratory activity of wogonin. Our date showed that wogonin caused suppression of cell migration, adhesion, invasion and actin remodeling by inhibiting the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and Rac1 in vitro. Wogonin also reduced the number of the tumor nodules on the whole surface of the lung in vivo. Furthermore, the examination of mechanism revealed that wogonin inhibited Extracellular Regulated protein Kinases and Protein Kinase B pathways, which are both medicated by Ras. Insulin-like growth factor-1-induced or tumor necrosis factor-α-induced invasion was also inhibited by wogonin. Therefore, the inhibitory mechanism of melanoma cell invasion by wogonin might be elucidated.     

A novel indirubin derivative that increases somatic cell plasticity and inhibits tumorigenicity

Indirubin-based compounds affect diverse biological processes, such as inflammation and angiogenesis. In this study, we tested a novel indirubin derivative, LDD-1819 (2-((((2Z,3E)-5-hydroxy-5′-nitro-2′-oxo-[2,3′-biindolinylidene]-3-ylidene)amino)oxy)ethan-1-aminium chloride) for two major biological activities: cell plasticity and anti-cancer activity. Biological assays indicated that LDD-1819 induced somatic cell plasticity. LDD-1819 potentiated myoblast reprogramming into osteogenic cells and fibroblast reprogramming into adipogenic cells. Interestingly, in an assay of skeletal muscle dedifferentiation, LDD-1819 induced human muscle cellularization and blocked residual proliferative activity to produce a population of mononuclear refractory cells, which is also observed in the early stages of limb regeneration in urodele amphibians. In cancer cell lines, LDD-1819 treatment inhibited cell invasion and selectively induced apoptosis compared to normal cells. In an animal tumor xenograft model, LDD-1819 reduced human cancer cell metastasis in vivo at doses that did not produce toxicity. Biochemical assays showed that LDD-1819 possessed inhibitory activity against glycogen synthase kinase-3β, which is linked to cell plasticity, and aurora kinase, which regulates carcinogenesis. These results indicate that novel indirubin derivative LDD-1819 is a dual inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and aurora A kinase, and has potential for development as an anti-cancer drug or as a reprogramming agent for cell-therapy based approaches to treat degenerative diseases.