低氧促进肺腺癌A549细胞迁移的机制*

目的: 探讨低氧促进肺腺癌A549细胞迁移的机制。方法: 培养肺腺癌A549细胞,转染慢病毒获得稳定敲低ACC1的A549细胞株,转染si-RNA获得敲低SREBP-1的A549细胞。分别以低氧(5％ O₂)联合低氧诱导因子1α(HIF-1α)抑制剂PX-478(25 μmol)处理A549细胞,低氧联合亚油酸(LA)(20 μmol)处理敲低ACC1的A549细胞,低氧处理敲低胆固醇调节原件结合蛋白1(SREBP-1)的A549细胞。Transwell实验检测细胞迁移,蛋白质印迹法检测HIF-1α、ACC1及上皮-间质转化(EMT)相关波形蛋白(Vimentin)及E-钙黏蛋白(E-Cadherin)的表达与SREBP-1的表达,实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应(RT-qPCR)检测低氧联合HIF-1α抑制剂PX-478(25 μmol)处理A549细胞后ACC1及SREBP-1 mRNA水平变化。每项实验重复三次。结果: 与常氧组相比,低氧组A549细胞迁移数增加,ACC1与HIF-1α表达上调(P均＜0.01),SREBP-1表达上调(P＜0.05);与低氧对照组相比,PX-478(25 μmol)抑制A549细胞迁移,SREBP-1表达下调(P＜0.05);低氧处理A549细胞后ACC1 mRNA上升(P＜0.05),SREBP-1 mRNA水平上升(P＜0.01);低氧并使用PX-478(25 μmol)处理A549细胞24 h,ACC1 mRNA水平下降(P＜0.05),SREBP-1 mRNA 水平下降(P＜0.01);转染si-RNA获得敲低SREBP-1的A549细胞,Transwell 实验显示si-SREBP-1组细胞迁移数较常氧对照组减少(P＜0.01);低氧处理si-SREBP-1组与si-NC组,与对照组相比si-SREBP-1组细胞迁移数减少(P＜0.01)但与常氧组相比差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05);Western blot检测到si-SREBP-1组ACC1表达较对照组下降(P＜0.01);低氧处理si-SREBP-1组,ACC1表达较对照组下降(P＜0.01);敲低ACC1抑制A549细胞迁移(P＜0.05),敲低ACC1后A549细胞在常氧和5％ O₂条件下细胞迁移数目差异无统计学意义(P＞ 0.05);低氧处理敲低ACC1的A549细胞并给予LA(25 μmol)促进A549细胞迁移(P＜0.05)。结论: 低氧通过HIF-1α/SREBP-1/ACC1途径调节脂肪酸代谢进而促进肺腺癌A549细胞迁移。     

HER2+ mCRC patients with exon 20 R784G substitution mutation do not respond to the cetuximab therapy

The human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) gene undergoes various mutations that could alter its activity or respond to the antibody therapies. Cetuximab, a known anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (mAB), is widely administered in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) cases. Here we identified mCRC patients who did not respond to cetuximab (500 mg/m², q2w) after fluoropyrimidine/oxaliplatin regimen failure. Tumor samples were examined with immunohistochemistry for protein distribution, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing for mutation detection and real-time PCR for mRNA expression pattern analysis between cetuximab sensitive and resistance patients. The conformational differences of normal and mutated protein structures were predicted by bioinformatics analysis. The 5-year survival rates of target groups were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Immunohistochemistry showed that all cases had high level of HER2 protein. No K-Ras or B-Raf mutation was observed among the study population; however, cetuximab resistance patients harbored a somatic mutation R784G at the exon 20 region of HER2 coding sequence. According to bioinformatics analysis, this mutation caused a notable misfold in protein conformation. Meanwhile, survival analysis showed R784G mutated mCRC patients had shortened survival rate compared with the mCRC cases with wild-type HER2. Collectively, these data report a new mechanism of resistance to cetuximab and might be applicable in modifying new therapeutic strategies for HER2 involved cancers.     

A novel LncRNA-based prognostic score reveals TP53-dependent subtype of lung adenocarcinoma with poor survival

The prognostic signatures play an essential role in the era of personalised therapy for cancer patients including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Long noncoding RNA (LncRNA), a relatively novel class of RNA, has shown to play a crucial role in all the areas of cancer biology. Here, we developed and validated a robust LncRNA-based prognostic signature for LUAD patients using three different cohorts. In the discovery cohort, four LncRNAs were identified with 10% false discovery rate and a hazard ratio of >10 using univariate Cox regression analysis. A risk score, generated from the four LncRNAs’ expression, was found to be a significant predictor of survival in the discovery and validation cohort (p = 9.97 × 10 ⁻⁸ and 1.41 × 10 ⁻³, respectively). Further optimisation of four LncRNAs signature in the validation cohort, generated a three LncRNAs prognostic score (LPS), which was found to be an independent predictor of survival in both the cohorts ( p = 1.00 × 10 ⁻⁶ and 7.27 × 10 ⁻⁴, respectively). The LPS also significantly divided survival in clinically important subsets, including Stage I ( p = 9.00 × 10 ⁻⁴ and 4.40 × 10 ⁻², respectively), KRAS wild-type (WT), KRAS mutant ( p = 4.00 × 10 ⁻³ and 4.30 × 10 ⁻², respectively) and EGFR WT ( p = 2.00 × 10 ⁻⁴). In multivariate analysis LPS outperformed, eight previous prognosticators. Further, individual members of LPS showed a significant correlation with survival in microarray data sets. Mutation analysis showed that high-LPS patients have a higher mutation rate and inactivation of the TP53 pathway. In summary, we identified and validated a novel LncRNA signature LPS for LUAD.     

Use of stem cells as carriers of oncolytic viruses for cancer treatment

Therapeutic application of stem cells and oncolytic viruses in cancer treatment has rapidly increased in the last decade. Oncolytic viruses are considered as a new class of anticancer agents because of their ability to selectively infect and destroy cancer cells. Furthermore, regarding the specific migratory capacity of stem cells, they can be used as carriers or vectors targeting metastatic cancer. Promising results have been reported regarding the use of stem cells and oncolytic viruses as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of metastatic cancer. The present review aimed to determine the approaches involved in the use of the tumor-homing capacity of stem cells for cancer treatment.     

Immune checkpoint blockade and its combination therapy with small-molecule inhibitors for cancer treatment

Initially understood for its physiological maintenance of self-tolerance, the immune checkpoint molecule has recently been recognized as a promising anti-cancer target. There has been considerable interest in the biology and the action mechanism of the immune checkpoint therapy, and their incorporation with other therapeutic regimens. Recently the small-molecule inhibitor (SMI) has been identified as an attractive combination partner for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and is becoming a novel direction for the field of combination drug design. In this review, we provide a systematic discussion of the biology and function of major immune checkpoint molecules, and their interactions with corresponding targeting agents. With both preclinical studies and clinical trials, we especially highlight the ICI + SMI combination, with its recent advances as well as its application challenges.     

Identification of a 4-miRNA signature as a potential prognostic biomarker for pancreatic adenocarcinoma

An microRNA (miRNA) signature to predict the clinical outcome of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is still lacking. In the current study, we aimed at identifying and evaluating a prognostic miRNA signature for patients with PAAD. The miRNA expression profile and the clinical information regarding patients with PAAD were recruited from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Differentially expressed miRNAs were identified between normal and tumor samples. By means of survival analysis, a 4-miRNA signature for predicting patients' with PAAD overall survival (OS) was constructed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied to determine the efficiency of survival prediction. Furthermore, the biological function of the predicted miRNAs was evaluated using a bioinformatics approach. Four (hsa-mir-126, hsa-mir-3613, hsa-mir-424, and hsa-mir-4772) out of 17 differentially expressed miRNAs were associated to the OS of patients with PAAD. Moreover, the area under the curve (AUC) of the constructed 4-miRNA signature associated to patients' with PAAD 2-year survival was 0.789. The multivariate Cox's proportional hazards regression model suggested that this 4-miRNA signature was an independent prognostic factor of other clinical parameters in patients with PAAD. Further pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the miRNAs in the 4-miRNA signature might regulate genes that affect focal adhesion, Wnt signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Thus, these findings indicated that the 4-miRNA signature might be an effective independent prognostic biomarker in the prediction of PAAD patients' survival.     

LncRNA CASC2 inhibits proliferation and migration of adenocarcinoma cells via miR-4735-3p and mTOR

Lung adenocarcinoma is a major form of non–small-cell lung cancer that frequently strikes nonsmokers. The disease is often diagnosed at a late stage and the 5-year survival rate is very low. Although previous studies found many somatic alterations associated with lung adenocarcinoma, the molecular basis of the development and progression of the disease is not well understood. We found that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) cancer susceptibility candidate 2 (CASC2), a putative tumor suppressor, was downregulated in both patient adenocarcinoma tissues and cultured lung cancer cells. Its tumor suppression function seemed to be dependent on its binding to miR-4735-5p. Changing the levels of CASC2 and miR-4735-3p in the cultured adenocarcinoma cells could affect the malignant phenotypes as well as growth of tumors derived from the cells injected into nude mice. Furthermore, the lncRNA and miR-4735-3p interplay likely the suppressed tumor growth through the downstream mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. The results have revealed molecular details that may be critical for the development of lung adenocarcinoma, opening opportunities for the development of novel, and therapeutic tools.