Dataset Information

Fatty acid 2-hydroxylation inhibits tumor growth and increases sensitivity to cisplatin in gastric cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Most gastric cancers are diagnosed at an advanced or metastatic stage with poor prognosis and survival rate. Fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FA2H) with high expression in stomach generates chiral (R)-2-hydroxy FAs ((R)-2-OHFAs) and regulates glucose utilization which is important for cell proliferation and invasiveness. We hypothesized that FA2H impacts gastric tumor growth and could represent a novel target to improve gastric cancer therapy.

Methods

FA2H level in 117 human gastric tumors and its association with tumor growth, metastasis and overall survival were examined. Its roles and potential mechanisms in regulating tumor growth were studied by genetic and pharmacological manipulation of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Findings

FA2H level was lower in gastric tumor tissues as compared to surrounding tissues and associated with clinicopathologic status of patients, which were confirmed by analyses of multiple published datasets. FA2H depletion decreased tumor chemosensitivity, partially due to inhibition of AMPK and activation of the mTOR/S6K1/Gli1 pathway. Conversely, FA2H overexpression or treatment with (R)-2-OHFAs had the opposite effects. In line with these in vitro observations, FA2H knockdown promoted tumor growth with increased level of tumor Gli1 in vivo. Moreover, (R)-2-OHFA treatment significantly decreased Gli1 level in gastric tumors and enhanced tumor chemosensitivity to cisplatin, while alleviating the chemotherapy-induced weight loss in mice.

Interpretation

Our results demonstrate that FA2H plays an important role in regulating Hh signaling and gastric tumor growth and suggest that (R)-2-OHFAs could be effective as nontoxic wide-spectrum drugs to promote chemosensitivity. FUND: Grants of NSF, NIH, and PAPD.

SUBMITTER: Yao Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6441949 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundOvarian cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy and is difficult to manage due to the emergence of resistance to various chemotherapeutic drugs. New efforts are urgently awaited. Aspirin, which is traditionally considered a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been reported to exert potential chemopreventive effects. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the anticancer effect and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of aspirin on epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells.MethodsWe conducted wound healing, transwell migration, EdU cell proliferation, colony formation and apoptosis detection assays to observe the effects of aspirin on the migration, proliferation and apoptosis of EOC cells (A2870, Caov-3, and SK-OV-3). EOC cells were treated with a combination of aspirin and cisplatin (CDDP) to observe the effect of aspirin on enhancing CDDP sensitivity. Orthotopic xenograft models of ovarian cancer established with A2780-Luciferase-GFP cells were applied to compare tumor growth inhibition in the control, CDDP and CDDP plus aspirin groups through in vivo imaging, which can be used to continuously monitor tumor growth. The expression and acetylation levels of p53 in EOC cells treated with aspirin were determined using western blotting, and p53 acetylation levels were examined in tumors harvested from the transplanted mice. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to assess the mRNA expression of p53 target genes.ResultsAspirin inhibited migration and proliferation and induced apoptosis in EOC cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner. In vitro, aspirin enhanced the sensitivity of EOC cells to CDDP by increasing its inhibitory effect on proliferation and its effect on inducing apoptosis. In vivo, the differences in the tumor growth inhibition rates among the different CDDP experimental groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Aspirin did not affect p53 protein expression but increased the p53 acetylation level in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the mRNA levels of CDKN1A, BAX, FOXF1, PUMA, and RRAD in EOC cells were significantly increased by the aspirin treatment.ConclusionsAspirin inhibits tumor progression and enhances the CDDP sensitivity of EOC cells. These antitumor effects of aspirin might be mediated by p53 acetylation and subsequent activation of p53 target genes.