Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Sensitize Lung Cancer Cells to Hyperthermia: Involvement of Ku70/SirT-1 in Thermo-Protection

This study describes the sensitization mechanism to thermal stress by histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) in lung cancer cells and shows that Ku70, based on its acetylation status, mediates the protection of lung cancer from hyperthermia (42.5°C, 1-6 hrs). Ku70 regulates apoptosis by sequestering pro-apoptotic Bax. However, its role in thermal stress is not fully understood. The findings showed that, pre-treating lung cancer cells with HDACIs, nicotinamide (NM) or Trichostatin A (TsA) or both significantly enhanced hyperthermia-induced Bax-dependent apoptosis in PC-10 cells. We found that hyperthermia induces SirT-1, Sirtuin, upregulation but not HDAC6 or SirT-3, therefore transfection with dominant negative SirT-1 (Y/H) also eliminated the protection and resulted in more cell death by hyperthermia, in H1299 cells through Bax activation. Hyperthermia alone primed lung cancer cells to apoptosis without prominent death. After hyperthermia Bax was upregulated, Bcl-2 was downregulated, the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was inversed and Bax/Bcl-2 heterodimer was dissociated. Although hyperthermia did not affect total Ku70 expression level, it stimulated Ku70 deacetylation, which in turn could bind more Bax in the PC-10 cells. These findings suggest an escape mechanism from hyperthermia-induced Bax activation. To verify the role of Ku70 in this protection mechanism, Ku70 was silenced by siRNA. Ku70 silencing significantly sensitized the lung cancer cells to hyperthermia. The Ku70 KD cells underwent cytotoxic G1 arrest and caspase-dependant apoptosis when compared to scrambled transfectants which showed only G2/M cytostatic arrest in the cell lines investigated, suggesting an additional cell cycle-dependent, novel, role of Ku70 in protection from hyperthermia. Taken together, our data show a Ku70-dependent protection mechanism from hyperthermia. Targeting Ku70 and/or its acetylation during hyperthermia may represent a promising therapeutic approach for lung cancer.     

组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂－FK228对人非小细胞肺癌A549细胞纺锤体检查点的影响

HDACi—FK228是一种新型抗肿瘤药物,但其作用机制研究的尚未十分明确,为进一步阐明FK228杀伤肿瘤细胞的机制,该文应用流式细胞术检测FK228对非小细胞肺癌A549细胞周期的影响：应用免疫荧光染色和免疫印迹检测FK228对检查点蛋白Bub1及BubR1定位和表达的影响;采用纺锤体检查点功能实验检测FK228对细胞检查点功能的影响。结果提示,FK228处理24h后,G2／M期细胞比例由6．35％增至19．91％;FK228能够抑制检查点蛋白Bub1及BubR1着丝粒定位并上调两种蛋白表达：纺锤体检查点功能实验提示对照组经Nocodazole或Taxol处理后G2／M期细胞比例最高分别达35．74％及29．24％,而FK228处理组经上述两种药物处理后各时间点G2／M期细胞所占比例皆明显减少（最高所占比例分别仅为7．13％及6．03％）,失去了随时相点的动态变化,提示FK228抑制了A549细胞纺锤体检查点在监测张力和黏附上的功能。该研究证实FK228能够通过影响纺锤体检查点蛋白着丝粒定位以及抑制纺锤体检查点的功能,进而干涉肿瘤细胞有丝分裂过程,有助于阐明HDACi杀伤肿瘤细胞的新机制。     

New Approaches of PARP-1 Inhibitors in Human Lung Cancer Cells and Cancer Stem-Like Cells by Some Selected Anthraquinone-Derived Small Molecules

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and telomerase, as well as DNA damage response pathways are targets for anticancer drug development, and specific inhibitors are currently under clinical investigation. The purpose of this work is to evaluate anticancer activities of anthraquinone-derived tricyclic and tetracyclic small molecules and their structure-activity relationships with PARP-1 inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and NSCLC-overexpressing Oct4 and Nanog clone, which show high-expression of PARP-1 and more resistance to anticancer drug. We applied our library selected compounds to NCI''s 60 human cancer cell-lines (NCI-60) in order to generate systematic profiling data. Based on our analysis, it is hypothesized that these drugs might be, directly and indirectly, target components to induce mitochondrial permeability transition and the release of pro-apoptotic factors as potential anti-NSCLC or PARP inhibitor candidates. Altogether, the most active NSC747854 showed its cytotoxicity and dose-dependent PARP inhibitory manner, thus it emerges as a promising structure for anti-cancer therapy with no significant negative influence on normal cells. Our studies present evidence that telomere maintenance should be taken into consideration in efforts not only to overcome drug resistance, but also to optimize the use of telomere-based therapeutics. These findings will be of great value to facilitate structure-based design of selective PARP inhibitors, in general, and telomerase inhibitors, in particular. Together, the data presented here expand our insight into the PARP inhibitors and support the resource-demanding lead optimization of structurally related small molecules for human cancer therapy.     

MicroRNA-449a/b抑制人结肠癌细胞内Fra-1的表达

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 是一类长度约为22 nt的非编码的调控性小RNA,它们在诸多的生命活动中发挥重要作用,如参与调控细胞的增殖、分化、凋亡以及肿瘤的发生发展. MicroRNA-449a/b (miR 449a/b) 是脊椎动物中进化保守的miRNA,作为抑癌基因,参与了许多癌症的发生过程,但其在结肠癌中的作用尚不清楚. 本文利用实时荧光定量技术研究了miR-449a/b在结肠癌组织中的表达. 利用双荧光素酶报告基因检测系统及Western印迹鉴定miR-449a/b的靶基因. 应用MTS法和Transwell分别检测miR-449a/b对结肠癌细胞增殖和迁移的影响. 检测组蛋白乙酰化酶抑制剂曲古菌素A (trichostatin A, TSA) 对结肠癌细胞中miR-449a/b表达的影响. 研究结果表明：与正常结肠组织相比,miR-449a/b在结肠癌组织中低表达;miR 449a/b能够结合到FRA-1 mRNA 3′-非翻译区 (3′-untranslated region, 3′-UTR),从而抑制结肠癌细胞HCT116内源Fra 1的表达;外源转染miR-449a/b明显抑制结肠癌细胞HCT116的增殖和迁移;并且TSA处理能够诱导结肠癌细胞HCT116中miR-449a/b的表达. 以上结果提示: miR-449a/b可能通过抑制靶基因Fra-1的表达,进而抑制结肠癌细胞的增殖和迁移．     

MicroRNA-449a Enhances Radiosensitivity in CL1-0 Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Radiotherapy is often applied for treating lung cancer, but it often fails because of the relative non-susceptibility of lung cancer cells to radiation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to modulate the radiosensitivity of lung cancer cells and have the potential to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to identify a miRNA that can adjust radiosensitivity in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Two lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (CL1-0 and CL1-5) with different metastatic ability and radiosensitivity were used. In order to understand the regulatory mechanisms of differential radiosensitivity in these isogenic tumor cells, both CL1-0 and CL1-5 were treated with 10 Gy radiation, and were harvested respectively at 0, 1, 4, and 24 h after radiation exposure. The changes in expression of miRNA upon irradiation were examined using Illumina Human microRNA BeadChips. Twenty-six miRNAs were identified as having differential expression post-irradiation in CL1-0 or CL1-5 cells. Among these miRNAs, miR-449a, which was down-regulated in CL1-0 cells at 24 h after irradiation, was chosen for further investigation. Overexpression of miR-449a in CL1-0 cells effectively increased irradiation-induced DNA damage and apoptosis, altered the cell cycle distribution and eventually led to sensitization of CL1-0 to irradiation.     

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Inhibit the Proliferation of Gallbladder Carcinoma Cells by Suppressing AKT/mTOR Signaling

Gallbladder carcinoma is an aggressive malignancy with high mortality mainly due to the limited potential for curative resection and its resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Here, we show that the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) trichostatin-A (TSA) and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) reduce the proliferation and induce apoptosis of gallbladder carcinoma cells by suppressing the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Gallbladder carcinoma SGC-996 cells were treated with different concentrations of TSA and SAHA for different lengths of time. Cell proliferation and morphology were assessed with MTT assay and microscopy, respectively. Cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis were analyzed with flow cytometry. Western blotting was used to detect the proteins related to apoptosis, cell cycle, and the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Our data showed that TSA and SAHA reduced SGC-996 cell viability and arrested cell cycle at the G1 phase in a dose- and time-dependent manner. TSA and SAHA promoted apoptosis of SGC-996 cells, down-regulated the expression of cyclin D1, c-Myc and Bmi1, and decreased the phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR p70S6K1, S6 and 4E-BP1. Additionally, the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin further reduced the cell viability of TSA- and SAHA-treated SGC-996 cells and the phosphorylation of mTOR, whereas the mTOR activator 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (C8-PA) exerted the opposite influence. Our results demonstrate that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) suppress the proliferation of gallbladder carcinoma cell via inhibition of AKT/mTOR signaling. These findings offer a mechanistic rationale for the application of HDACIs in gallbladder carcinoma treatment.     

MicroRNA-650 Was a Prognostic Factor in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma and Confers the Docetaxel Chemoresistance of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells via Regulating?Bcl-2/Bax?Expression

Increasing evidence shows that dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) is involved in malignant transformation. We investigated the clinical significance of miR-650 and its involvement in chemoresistance to docetaxel. Our results showed that the relative expression level of miR-650 was significantly higher in LAD tissues than in corresponding nontumor tissues and high level of miR-650 expression was found to be significantly associated with high incidence of lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis of LAD patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that high miR-650 expression was an independent prognostic factor for survival. Also, we found that the level of miR-650 in LAD tissues was correlated with the response of patients to docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Silencing of miR-650 could increase the in vitro sensitivity of docetaxel-resistant LAD cells to docetaxel, while upregulation of miR-650 decreased the sensitivity of parental LAD cells to docetaxel both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, silencing of miR-650 could enhance the caspase-3-dependent apoptosis, which might be correlated with the decreased ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. Further researches suggested that inhibitor of growth 4 (ING4) was a direct target of miR-650. Downregulated or upregulated ING4 expression could partially rescue the effects of miR-650 inhibitor or mimics in docetaxel-resistant or parental LAD cells. Furthermore, we found that ING4 was upregulated in docetaxel-responding LAD tissues, and its expression was inversely correlated with miR-650. Thus, miR-650 is a novel prognostic marker in LAD and its expression is a potential indicator of chemosensitivity to docetaxel-based chemotherapy regimen.     

调控肿瘤上皮–间质转化及肿瘤干细胞样特性的信号通路串话

上皮–间质转化（epithelial-mesenchymal transition,EMT）是上皮来源肿瘤细胞获得侵袭和转移能力的重要生物学过程。肿瘤干细胞样细胞（cancer stem-like cells,CSLCs）在肿瘤发生、侵袭、转移和复发中亦起着关键作用。近年发现,EMT与肿瘤干细胞样特性获得存在密切关联,二者通过TGF-β、Wnt/β-catenin、Notch、Hedgehog、FGF、PI3k/Akt等多种信号通路及通路间的信号串话而交互作用,共同影响着肿瘤发生、侵袭及转移,了解调控EMT/CSLCs关键信号分子的功能及相互作用对于肿瘤靶向治疗具有重要意义。     

MicroRNA-574-5p Was Pivotal for TLR9 Signaling Enhanced Tumor Progression via Down-Regulating Checkpoint Suppressor 1 in Human Lung Cancer

Accumulating data suggested that functional expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in tumor cells was involved in tumor progression. Our previous study demonstrated that TLR9 signaling could enhance the tumor progression of human lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We further showed that miR-574-5p was the mostly up-regulated miRNA in human lung cancer cells under TLR9 signaling by miRNA array analysis. Here we characterized the potential role of miRNA-574-5p in enhanced tumor progression induced by TLR9 signaling in human lung cancer. We confirmed that TLR9 signaling effectively elevated the expression of miR-574-5p in human lung cancer cells. Notably, we found that down-regulation of miRNA-574-5p using miR-574-5p inhibitor in vitro or miR-574-5p sponge in vivo significantly abrogated the enhanced tumor progression induced by TLR9 signaling. Further studies showed that miR-574-5p was an important player associated with enhanced tumor progression of human lung cancer cells. Notably, we identified checkpoint suppressor 1 (Ches1) as the dominant direct target for miRNA-574-5p to confer the TLR9 signaling enhanced tumor progression. We revealed that over-expression of Ches1 significantly inhibited the cell cycle entry of human lung cancer cells. Finally, we revealed that the expression of miR-574-5p was positively correlated with TLR9 and reversely correlated with Ches1 in lung cancer patients. Our findings not only facilitated the further understanding of the crosstalk between miRNAs and TLRs in tumor biology, but also provided novel potential candidates for treatment of cancer.     

布雷菲德菌素A调控IRE1-XBP1信号通路增强顺铂诱导GLC-82细胞凋亡的作用

长时间剧烈的内质网应激（endoplasmic reticulum stress,ERS）可启动ERS相关通路诱导细胞凋亡;而IREl-XBP1(肌醇需求蛋白1α-X盒结合蛋白1)为高度保守的ERS基本通路。它是最有前景的肿瘤治疗靶点之一。我们研究已证明,布雷菲德菌素A（brefeldin A,BFA）能增强顺铂（cis-dichlorodiamine platinum,CDDP）的肺癌细胞杀伤作用,但其分子机制尚不清楚。本研究证明了IRE1-XBP1通路在该协同效应中的作用。AnnexinV/PI双染结合流式细胞分析显示,与BFA或CDDP单独处理比较,BFA联合CDDP处理能增强人肺癌GLC-82细胞的凋亡。RT-qPCR和Western印迹揭示,与单独处理比较,BFA联合CDDP处理能增强GLC-82细胞的procaspase3转录本（mRNA）和蛋白质的表达,以及procaspase3的裂解激活,进一步证明了BFA联合CDDP处理可增强GLC-82细胞凋亡。最重要的是,RT-qPCR和Western印迹结果证明,与单独CDDP处理比较,BFA处理的GLC-82细胞中IRE1、XBP1水平明显上调（P < 0.05）,而BFA+CDDP处理的细胞中IRE1、XBP1水平进一步上调,超过BFA组（P < 0.01）。结果提示BFA和BFA+CDDP处理细胞可激活ERS的IRE1-XBP1通路。这些结果证明,BFA可通过激活ERS中的IRE1-XBP1通路增强顺铂诱导的肿瘤细胞凋亡。本研究结果为IREl-XBP1是颇具前景的肿瘤治疗靶点提供了新的证据。     

Effectiveness of the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor (S)-2 against LNCaP and PC3 Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) represent a promising class of epigenetic agents with anticancer properties. Here, we report that (S)-2, a novel hydroxamate-based HDACi, shown previously to be effective against acute myeloid leukemia cells, was also a potent inducer of apoptosis/differentiation in human prostate LNCaP and PC3 cancer cells. In LNCaP cells (S)-2 was capable of triggering H3/H4 histone acetylation, H2AX phosphorylation as a marker of DNA damage and producing G₀/G₁ cell cycle arrest. Consistently, (S)-2 led to enhanced expression of both the protein and mRNA p21 levels in LNCaP cells but, contrary to SAHA, not in normal non-tumorigenic prostate PNT1A cells. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that (S)-2-induced apoptosis in LNCaP cells developed through the cleavage of pro-caspase 9 and 3 and of poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase accompanied by the dose-dependent loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Indeed, the addition of the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk greatly reduced drug-mediated apoptosis while the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine was virtually ineffective. Importantly, preliminary data with nude mice xenografted with LNCaP cells showed that (S)-2 prompted a decrease in the tumor volume and an increase in H2AX phosphorylation within the cancer cells. Moreover, the highly metastatic prostate cancer PC3 cells were also sensitive to (S)-2 that: i) induced growth arrest and moderate apoptosis; ii) steered cells towards differentiation and neutral lipid accumulation; iii) reduced cell invasiveness potential by decreasing the amount of MMP-9 activity and up-regulating TIMP-1 expression; and iv) inhibited cell motility and migration through the Matrigel. Overall, (S)-2 has proven to be a powerful HDACi capable of inducing growth arrest, cell death and/or differentiation of LNCaP and PC3 prostate cancer cells and, due to its low toxicity and efficacy in vivo, might also be of clinical interest to support conventional prostate cancer therapy.     

The Role of MicroRNA-200 in Progression of Human Colorectal and Breast Cancer

The role of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer has been studied extensively in vitro, but involvement of the EMT in tumorigenesis in vivo is largely unknown. We investigated the potential of microRNAs as clinical markers and analyzed participation of the EMT-associated microRNA-200–ZEB–E-cadherin pathway in cancer progression. Expression of the microRNA-200 family was quantified by real-time RT-PCR analysis of fresh-frozen and microdissected formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary colorectal tumors, normal colon mucosa, and matched liver metastases. MicroRNA expression was validated by in situ hybridization and after in vitro culture of the malignant cells. To assess EMT as a predictive marker, factors considered relevant in colorectal cancer were investigated in 98 primary breast tumors from a treatment-randomized study. Associations between the studied EMT-markers were found in primary breast tumors and in colorectal liver metastases. MicroRNA-200 expression in epithelial cells was lower in malignant mucosa than in normal mucosa, and was also decreased in metastatic compared to non-metastatic colorectal cancer. Low microRNA-200 expression in colorectal liver metastases was associated with bad prognosis. In breast cancer, low levels of microRNA-200 were related to reduced survival and high expression of microRNA-200 was predictive of benefit from radiotheraphy. MicroRNA-200 was associated with ER positive status, and inversely correlated to HER2 and overactivation of the PI3K/AKT pathway, that was associated with high ZEB1 mRNA expression. Our findings suggest that the stability of microRNAs makes them suitable as clinical markers and that the EMT-related microRNA-200 – ZEB – E-cadherin signaling pathway is connected to established clinical characteristics and can give useful prognostic and treatment-predictive information in progressive breast and colorectal cancers.     

LSD1 Regulates Pluripotency of Embryonic Stem/Carcinoma Cells through Histone Deacetylase 1-Mediated Deacetylation of Histone H4 at Lysine 16

LSD1 is essential for the maintenance of pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) or embryonic carcinoma/teratocarcinoma (EC) cells. We have previously developed novel LSD1 inhibitors that selectively inhibit ES/EC cells. However, the critical targets of LSD1 remain unclear. Here, we found that LSD1 interacts with histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) to regulate the proliferation of ES/EC cells through acetylation of histone H4 at lysine 16 (H4K16), which we show is a critical substrate of HDAC1. The LSD1 demethylase and HDAC1 deacetylase activities were both inactivated if one of them in the complex was chemically inhibited in ES/EC cells or in reconstituted protein complexes. Loss of HDAC1 phenocopied the selective growth-inhibitory effects and increased the levels of H3K4 methylation and H4K16 acetylation of LSD1 inactivation on ES/EC cells. Reduction of acetylated H4K16 by ablation of the acetyltransferase males absent on the first (MOF) is sufficient to rescue the growth inhibition induced by LSD1 inactivation. While LSD1 or HDAC1 inactivation caused the downregulation of Sox2 and Oct4 and induction of differentiation genes, such as FOXA2 or BMP2, depletion of MOF restored the levels of Sox2, Oct4, and FoxA2 in LSD1-deficient cells. Our studies reveal a novel mechanism by which LSD1 acts through the HDAC1- and MOF-mediated regulation of H4K16 acetylation to maintain the pluripotency of ES/EC cells.     

Ubiquitin B in Cervical Cancer: Critical for the Maintenance of Cancer Stem-Like Cell Characters

Cervical cancer cells exhibit an increased requirement for ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation associated with an elevated metabolic turnover rate. Ubiquitin, which is a small, highly conserved protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells, can be covalently linked to certain target proteins to mark them for degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Previous studies highlight the essential role of Ubiquitin B (UbB) and UbB-dependent proteasomal protein degradation in histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) -induced tumor selectivity. We hypothesized that UbB plays a critical role in the function of cervical cancer stem cells. We measured endogenous UbB levels in mammospheres in vitro by real-time PCR and Western blotting. The function of UbB in cancer stem-like cells was assessed after knockdown of UbB expression in prolonged Trichostatin A-selected HeLa cells (HeLa/TSA) by measuring in vitro cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, invasion, and chemotherapy resistance as well as by measuring in vivo growth in an orthotopic model of cervical cancer. We also assessed the cancer stem cell frequency, tumorsphere formation, and in vivo growth of human cervical cancer xenografts after UbB silencing. We found that HeLa/TSA were resistant to chemotherapy, highly expressed the UbB gene and the stem cell markers Sox2, Oct4 and Nanog. These cells also displayed induced differentiation abilities, including enhanced migration/invasion/malignancy capabilities in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, an elevated expression of UbB was shown in the tumor samples of chemotherapy patients. Silencing of UbB inhibited tumorsphere formation, lowered the expression of stem cell markers and decreased cervical xenograft growth. Our results demonstrate that UbB was significantly increased in prolonged Trichostatin A-selected HeLa cells and it played a key role in the maintenance of cervical cancer stem-like cells.