Project description:Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a significant role in tumor progression and invasion. Snail is a known regulator of EMT in various malignant tumors. This study investigated the role of Snail in gastric cancer.We examined the effects of silenced or overexpressed Snail using lenti-viral constructs in gastric cancer cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of tissue microarrays from 314 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GC) was used to determine Snail's clinicopathological and prognostic significance. Differential gene expression in 45 GC specimens with Snail overexpression was investigated using cDNA microarray analysis.Silencing of Snail by shRNA decreased invasion and migration in GC cell lines. Conversely, Snail overexpression increased invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells, in line with increased VEGF and MMP11. Snail overexpression (?75% positive nuclear staining) was also significantly associated with tumor progression (P?<?0.001), lymph node metastases (P?=?0.002), lymphovascular invasion (P?=?0.002), and perineural invasion (P?=?0.002) in the 314 GC patients, and with shorter survival (P?=?0.023). cDNA microarray analysis revealed 213 differentially expressed genes in GC tissues with Snail overexpression, including genes related to metastasis and invasion.Snail significantly affects invasiveness/migratory ability of GCs, and may also be used as a predictive biomarker for prognosis or aggressiveness of GCs.
Project description:BackgroundLymph node status is an important prognostic indicator and it significantly influences treatment decisions for colorectal cancer (CRC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of serum monosaccharides in predicting lymph node metastasis (LNM) and prognosis.MethodsHigh performance anion exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detector (HPAEC-PAD) was used to quantify serum monosaccharides from 252 CRC patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate predictive performance of parameters. Predictors of LNM were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. The prognostic role of the factors was evaluated by survival analysis.ResultsThe levels of serum mannose (Man) and galactose (Gal) were significantly increased in patients with LNM (p <0.0001, p =0.0017, respectively). The area under the curves (AUCs) of Man was 0.8140, which was higher than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (AUC =0.6523). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated histologic grade (G3) (odds ratio [OR] =2.60, p =0.043), histologic grade (mucin-producing subtype) (odds ratio [OR] =3.38, p =0.032), lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (OR =2.42, p <0.01), CEA (>5ng/ml) (OR =1.85, p =0.042) and high Man (OR =2.65, p =0.006) to be independent risk factors of LNM. The survival analysis showed that the high serum Man was independent risk factor for poor prognosis in CRC patients (HR=1.75, p =0.004).ConclusionsThe Man is superior to CEA in prediction of LNM for CRC patients. Man is expected to be a predictor for LNM in CRC. High serum Man is associated with poor prognosis of CRC patients.
Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate the value of Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 A (HIF1A) in predicting lymph node metastasis (LNM) stage and clinical outcomes of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients.Materials and methodsThe HIF1A gene expression analysis in PTC was performed by bioinformatics approaches followed by evaluating its protein level using immunohistochemistry analysis. The role of HIF1A in predicting the LNM stage was evaluated by logistic regression analysis, nomogram construction, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. We performed survival analyses to determine its prognostic value. Enrichment analysis was conducted, and immune cell infiltration and stromal content were evaluated to examine the underlying mechanism of HIF1A in PTC.ResultsHIF1A transcription and protein levels were significantly high in PTC tissue (P < 0.05). Its overexpression predicted high LNM risk and unfavorable prognosis for PTC patients (P < 0.05). Cox regression analysis revealed HIF1A as an independent prognostic biomarker for the disease-free interval (DFI) (P < 0.01). In addition, HIF1A was positively related to tumor-suppressive immunity but was negatively correlated with anti-tumor immunity. HIF1A upregulation was also associated with increased stromal content.ConclusionsHIF1A overexpression is an independent predictor for worse DFI in PTC. The HIF1A expression may affect the prognosis of PTC patients through immune- and stroma-related pathways. Our study provides new insight into the role of HIF1A in PTC biology and clinical management.
Project description:Accumulating evidence suggests that overexpression of heat shock protein 47 (HSP47) increases cancer progression, and that HSP47 level in the tumor-associated stroma may serve as a diagnostic marker in various cancers. The present study aimed to evaluate whether HSP47 gene expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues could be used to identify lymph node (LN) metastasis status preoperatively in patients with CRC. To do so, HSP47 gene expression was determined and its association with the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with CRC was analyzed. A total of 139 surgical specimens from patients with CRC and 36 patients with benign colonic disease undergoing surgery at Mie University Hospital were analyzed. HSP47 gene expression was determined by reverse transcription quantitative PCR using Power SYBR Green PCR methods. Expression level of HSP47 was significantly higher in CRC tissues compared with normal tissue from patients with benign colonic disease. Furthermore, high HSP47 expression was significantly associated with tumor progression, including high T stage, lymph node metastasis and venous invasion, and high TNM stage. High HSP47 expression may therefore serve as a novel predictive biomarker for determining patients with CRC and LN metastasis. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with high HSP47 expression level had significantly poorer overall survival than those with low HSP47 expression level. Furthermore, multivariate analyses identified HSP47 expression as an independent predictive marker for LN metastasis and poor overall survival in patients with CRC. In summary, the present study demonstrated that HSP47 expression may be considered as a novel biomarker for predicting LN metastasis status and prognosis in patients with CRC.
Project description:Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is in the highlights as a significant role in tumor progression and invasion. Snail was known as the one of regulators of EMT in various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Snail on invasiveness/migratory ability of gastric cancer cell lines and clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Snail over-expression using immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray of 314 gastric adenocarcinomas (GC). Differential gene expression in Snail over-expressed GC was investigated using cDNA microarray analysis. Silencing of Snail by ShRNA induced decreased of invasion, migration of gastric cancer cell lines. In contrast, over-expression of Snail induced increased invasiveness and migratory ability of gastric cancer cell lines in accordance increase of VEGF and MMP11. Furthermore, the over-expression of Snail (?75% nuclear staining of Snail) was significantly associated with tumor progression (p<0.0001), lymph node metastases (p=0.002), lymphovascular invasion (p=0.002), and perineural invasion (p=0.002) in 314 GC patient. Snail over-expression was also associated with poor prognosis (shorter survival) in GC patients (p=0.023). cDNA microarray revealed 213 differential expressed genes in Snail over-expressed GC tissues, including genes related to metastasis, invasion. Based on above results, it was suggested that Snail plays a significant role in invasiveness/migratory ability of GCs. In addition, Snail might be used to predictive biomarker for evaluation of prognosis or aggressiveness in GCs. 48 primary gastric adenocarcinoma fresh frozen tissues were used for microarray. All the tissues were obtained after curative resection after pathologic confirm at Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH, Busan, Korea) and Cheonnam University Hospital (CNUH, Cheonnam, Korea). Microarray experiment and data analysis were done at Cancer research institute, PNUH, Busan, Korea.
Project description:Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is in the highlights as a significant role in tumor progression and invasion. Snail was known as the one of regulators of EMT in various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Snail on invasiveness/migratory ability of gastric cancer cell lines and clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Snail over-expression using immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray of 314 gastric adenocarcinomas (GC). Differential gene expression in Snail over-expressed GC was investigated using cDNA microarray analysis. Silencing of Snail by ShRNA induced decreased of invasion, migration of gastric cancer cell lines. In contrast, over-expression of Snail induced increased invasiveness and migratory ability of gastric cancer cell lines in accordance increase of VEGF and MMP11. Furthermore, the over-expression of Snail (≥75% nuclear staining of Snail) was significantly associated with tumor progression (p<0.0001), lymph node metastases (p=0.002), lymphovascular invasion (p=0.002), and perineural invasion (p=0.002) in 314 GC patient. Snail over-expression was also associated with poor prognosis (shorter survival) in GC patients (p=0.023). cDNA microarray revealed 213 differential expressed genes in Snail over-expressed GC tissues, including genes related to metastasis, invasion. Based on above results, it was suggested that Snail plays a significant role in invasiveness/migratory ability of GCs. In addition, Snail might be used to predictive biomarker for evaluation of prognosis or aggressiveness in GCs.
Project description:BackgroundThe secretory small GTPase Rab27b was recently identified as an oncogene in breast cancer (BC) in vivo and in vitro studies. This research was designed to further explore the clinical and prognostic significance of Rab27B in BC patients.MethodsThe mRNA/protein expression level of Rab27B was examined by performing Real-time PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays in 12 paired BC tissues and matched adjacent noncancerous tissues (NAT). Then we carried out IHC assay in a large cohort of 221 invasive BC tissues, 22 normal breast tissues, 40 fibroadenoma (FA), 30 ductual carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and 40 metastatic lymph nodes (LNs). The receiver operating characteristic curve method was applied to obtain the optimal cutoff value for high Rab27B expression. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker expression levels were detected in relation to Rab27B expression.ResultsWe observed that the increased expression of Rab27B was dependent upon the magnitude of cancer progression (P < 0.001). The elevated expression of Rab27B was closely correlated with lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage, ascending pathology classification, and positive ER status. Furthermore, patients with high expression of Rab27B had inferior survival outcomes. Multivariate Cox regression analysis proved that Rab27B was a significantly independent risk factor for patients' survival (P < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant positive relationship was observed between Rab27B expression and elevated mesenchymal EMT markers.ConclusionOur findings suggest that overexpression of Rab27B in BC coincides with lymph node metastasis and acquisition of a poor prognostic phenotype.
Project description:BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly prevalent malignancy with a poor prognosis. USP20 can support progression of variety of tumors. USP20 was shown to promote breast tumor metastasis, and proliferation of oral squamous carcinoma cells. However, the role of USP20 in CRC remains unclear.MethodsWe used bioinformatics to analyze the expression and prognosis of USP20 in pan-cancer and explore the relationship between USP20 expression and immune infiltration, immune checkpoints, and chemotherapy resistance in CRC. The differential expression and prognostic role of USP20 in CRC was validated by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Cox univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess risk factors for poor prognosis of CRC, and new prognostic prediction models were constructed and evaluated by decision curve analysis (ROC) and receiver operating characteristic (DCA). USP20 was overexpressed in CRC cell lines to explore the effect of USP20 on the functionalities of CRC cells. Enrichment analyses were used to explore the possible mechanism of USP20 in CRC.ResultsThe expression of USP20 was lower in CRC tissues than adjacent normal tissues. Compared with low USP20 expression patients, CRC patients with high USP20 expression level had shorter OS. Correlation analysis showed that USP20 expression was associated with lymph node metastasis. Cox regression analysis revealed USP20 as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in CRC patients. ROC and DCA analyses showed that the performance of the newly constructed prediction model was better than the traditional TNM model. Immune infiltration analysis shown that USP20 expression is closely associated with T cell infiltration in CRC. A co-expression analysis showed that USP20 expression was positively correlated with several immune checkpoint genes including ADORA2A, CD160, CD27 and TNFRSF25 genes and positively associated with multiple multi-drug resistance genes such as MRP1, MRP3, and MRP5 genes. USP20 expression positively correlated with the sensitivity of cells to multiple anticancer drugs. Overexpression of USP20 enhanced the migration and invasive ability of CRC cells. Enrichment pathway analyses showed the USP20 may play a role via the Notch pathway, Hedgehog pathway and beta-catenin pathway.ConclusionUSP20 is downregulated in CRC and associated with prognosis in CRC. USP20 enhances CRC cells metastasis and is associated with immune infiltration, immune checkpoints, and chemotherapy resistance.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a major determinant of prognosis and treatment planning of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cysteine cathepsins constitute a family of proteolytic enzymes with known role in the degradation of the extracellular matrix. Involvement in pathological processes, such as inflammation and cancer progression, has been proved. The aim of the study was to discover the clinicopathological and prognostic implications of cathepsin K (CTSK) expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS:Eighty-three patients with primary OSCC, treated surgically between 1996 and 2000, were included. Gene expression data were acquired from a previously reported study. Human papilloma virus (HPV) status was previously determined by an algorithm for HPV-16. CTSK Protein expression was semi-quantitatively determined by immunohistochemistry in tumor and stromal cells. Expression data were correlated with various clinicopathological variables. RESULTS:Elevated gene and protein expression of CTSK were strongly associated to LNM and perineural invasion (p?<?0.01). Logistic regression analysis highlighted increased CTSK protein expression in tumor cells as the most significant independent factor of lymphatic metastasis (OR?=?7.65, CI:2.31-23.31, p?=?0.001). Survival analysis demonstrated CTSK protein expression in both stromal and tumor cells as significant indicators of poor 5-year disease specific survival (HR?=?2.40, CI:1.05-5.50, p?=?0.038 for stromal cells; HR?=?2.79, CI:1.02-7.64, p?=?0.045 for tumor cells). CONCLUSION:Upregulation of CTSK seems to be associated with high incidence of lymphatic spread and poor survival in OSCC. CTSK could therefore serve as a predictive biomarker for OSCC.
Project description:The prognosis for cervical cancer (CCa) patients with lymph node metastasis (LNM) is dismal. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying LNM may provide clinical therapeutic strategies for CCa patients with LNM. However, the precise mechanism of LNM in CCa remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrated that protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type M (PTPRM), identified from TCGA dataset, was markedly upregulated in CCa with LNM and correlated with LNM. Moreover, PTPRM was an independent prognostic factor of CCa patients in multivariate Cox's proportional hazards model analysis and associated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, through gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches, we found that PTPRM promoted CCa cells proliferation, migration, invasion, lymphangiogenesis, and LNM. Mechanistically, PTPRM promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via Src-AKT signaling pathway and induced lymphangiogenesis in a VEGF-C dependent manner, resulting in LNM of CCa. Importantly, knockdown of PTPRM dramatically reduced LNM in vivo, suggesting that PTPRM plays an important role in the LNM of CCa. Taken together, our findings uncover a novel molecular mechanism in the LNM of CCa and identify PTPRM as a novel prognostic factor and potential therapeutic target for LNM in CCa.