Project description:By comparing the expression profiles of miRNAs in different subtypes of HCC, we identified miR-424 as a HCC related miRNA. We found that the expression of miR-424 was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and six liver cancer cell lines. Significantly, its expression levels were correlated with tumor size, multiple nodules, vein invasion, TNM stage and overall survival of HCC. We showed that up-regulated miR-424 suppressed HCC cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro. Multi-pathway reporter arrays suggested that miR-424 suppressed the pRb-E2F pathway. Consistently, Akt3 and E2F3 were identified as the targets of miR-424 as evidenced by that ectopic miR-424 expression suppressed Akt3 and E2F3 expressions. Silencing Akt3 and E2F3 by siRNA pheno-copied the effect of ectopic miR-424 on HCC growth. Whereas, overexpression of Akt3 and E2F3 attenuated the effect of miR-424 on HCC growth. Together, our data demonstrated a tumor suppressor role for miR-424 in HCC development and progression with therapeutic implications. The strong correlation of miR-424 expression with HCC patient survival suggests that miR-424 could be a valuable biomarker for HCC prognosis.
Project description:Pre-mRNA alternative splicing is an essential step in the process of gene expression. It provides cells with the opportunity to create various protein isoforms. Disruptions of alternative splicing are associated with various diseases, including cancer. The muscleblind-like (MBNL) protein is a splicing regulatory protein. Overexpression of MBNL proteins in embryonic stem cells promotes differentiated cell-like alternative splicing patterns. We examined the expression level of MBNL2 in 143 resected HCCs using immunohistochemistry. MBNL2 was overexpressed in 51 (35.7%) HCCs. The overexpression of MBNL2 correlated with smaller tumor size (≤ 3 cm, P = 0.0108) and low tumor stage (Stage I, P = 0.0026), indicating that MBNL2 expression was lost in the late stage of HCC development. Furthermore, patients with MBNL2-positive HCCs had a borderline better 5-year overall survival (P = 0.0579). In non-cancerous liver parenchyma, MBNL2 was stained on the Canals of Hering and hepatocytes newly derived from hepatic progenitor cells. The overexpression of MBNL2 in Hep-J5 cells suppressed proliferation, tumorsphere formation, migration, and in vitro invasion, and also reduced in vivo tumor growth in NOD/SCID mice. In contrast, MBNL2 depletion with RNA interference in Huh7 cells increased in vitro migration and invasion, but did not enhance tumor growth. These results indicate that MBNL2 is a tumor suppressor in hepatocarcinogenesis.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high recurrence rate and poor clinical outcome after currently used therapies, including radiofrequency ablation. To explore the possible mechanisms for the relapse of HCC, in the present study we focussed on long non-coding RNA (LncRNA), which has been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis. We identified an LncRNA P5848, whose expression level was up-regulated in tumor samples from HCC patients after radiofrequency ablation. As such, we speculated that LncRNA P5848 may play a role in tumor growth. Here we showed that LncRNA P5848, whose up-regulation can lead to HCC cancer cell proliferation and migration. In vitro and in vivo overexpression of LncRNA P5848 promoted cell growth, cell survival, and cell invasion, whereas LncRNA P5848 depletion exerts opposite effects. Mechanistically, we have found that ENO1 was the target of LncRNA P5848. LncRNA P5848 up-regulated the gene and protein expression level of ENO1, promoting tumor growth and cell survival. However, siRNA-mediated knockdown of ENO1 counteracted the effects of LncRNA P5848 on cancer cell growth, cell survival, and migration. Taken together, LncRNA P5848 promotes HCC development by up-regulating ENO1, indicating that LncRNA P5848-ENO1 axis is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.
Project description:Cancer is, fundamentally, a disorder of cell growth and proliferation, which requires adequate supplies of energy and nutrients. In this study, we report that the haplo-insufficient tumor suppressor ASPP2, a p53 activator, negatively regulates the mevalonate pathway to mediate its inhibitory effect on tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Gene expression profile analysis revealed that the expression of key enzymes in the mevalonate pathway were increased when ASPP2 was downregulated. HCC cells gained higher cholesterol levels and enhanced tumor-initiating capability in response to the depletion of ASPP2. Simvastatin, a mevalonate pathway inhibitor, efficiently abrogated ASPP2 depletion-induced anchorage-independent cell proliferation, resistance to chemotherapy drugs in vitro, and tumor growth in xenografted nude mice. Mechanistically, ASPP2 interacts with SREBP-2 in the nucleus and restricts the transcriptional activity of SREBP-2 on its target genes, which include key enzymes involved in the mevalonate pathway. Moreover, clinical data revealed better prognosis in patients with high levels of ASPP2 and low levels of the mevalonate pathway enzyme HMGCR. Our findings provide functional and mechanistic insights into the critical role of ASPP2 in the regulation of the mevalonate pathway and the importance of this pathway in tumor initiation and tumor growth, which may provide a new therapeutic opportunity for HCC.
Project description:Glypican 3 (GPC3) is a valuable diagnostic marker and a potential therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To evaluate the efficacy of targeting GPC3 at the translational level, we used RNA interference to examine the biologic and molecular effects of GPC3 suppression in HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Transfection of Huh7 and HepG2 cells with GPC3-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited cell proliferation (P < .001) together with cell cycle arrest at the G(1) phase, down-regulation of antiapoptotic protein (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1), and replicative senescence. Gene expression analysis revealed that GPC3 suppression significantly correlated with transforming growth factor beta receptor (TGFBR) pathway (P = 4.57e-5) and upregulated TGF-β2 at both RNA and protein levels. The effects of GPC3 suppression by siRNA can be recapitulated by addition of human recombinant TGF-β2 to HCC cells in culture, suggesting the possible involvement of TGF-β2 in growth inhibition of HCC cells. Cotransfection of siRNA-GPC3 with siRNA-TGF-β2 partially attenuated the effects of GPC3 suppression on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and replicative senescence, confirming the involvement of TGF-β2 in siRNA-GPC3-mediated growth suppression. In vivo, GPC3 suppression significantly inhibited the growth of orthotopic xenografts of Huh7 and HepG2 cells (P < .05), accompanied by increased TGF-β2 expression, reduced cell proliferation (observed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining), and enhanced apoptosis (by TUNEL staining). In conclusion, molecular targeting of GPC3 at the translational level offers an effective option for the clinical management of GPC3-positive HCC patients.
Project description:BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually has a dismal prognosis because of its limited response to current pharmacotherapy and high metastatic rate. Sulfated oligosaccharide has been confirmed as having potent antitumor activities against solid tumors. Here, we explored the preclinical effects and molecular mechanisms of isomalto oligosaccharide sulfate (IMOS), another novel sulfated oligosaccharide, in HCC cell lines and a xenograft model. METHODS: The effects of IMOS on HCC proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, migration, and invasiveness in vitro were assessed by cell counting, flow cytometry, adhesion, wound healing, and transwell assays, respectively. The roles of IMOS on HCC growth and metastasis in xenograft models were evaluated by tumor volumes and fluorescent signals. Total and phosphorylated protein levels of AKT, ERK, and JNK as well as total levels of c-MET were detected by Western blotting. IMOS-regulated genes were screened by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) array in HCCLM3-red fluorescent protein (RFP) xenograft tissues and then confirmed by qRT-PCR in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. RESULTS: IMOS markedly inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis of HCCLM3, HepG2, and Bel-7402 cells and also significantly suppressed cell adhesion, migration, and invasion of HCCLM3 in vitro. At doses of 60 and 90 mg/kg/d, IMOS displayed robust inhibitory effects on HCC growth and metastasis without obvious side effects in vivo. The levels of pERK, tERK, and pJNK as well as c-MET were significantly down-regulated after treatment with 16 mg/mL IMOS. No obvious changes were found in the levels of pAkt, tAkt, and tJNK. Ten differentially expressed genes were screened from HCCLM3-RFP xenograft tissues after treatment with IMOS at a dose of 90 mg/kg/d. Similar gene expression profiles were confirmed in HepG2 and Hep3B cells after treatment with 16 mg/mL IMOS. CONCLUSIONS: IMOS is a potential anti-HCC candidate through inhibition of ERK and JNK signaling independent of p53 and worth studying further in patients with HCC, especially at advanced stages.
Project description:BackgroundThe dysregulation of miR-663a is frequently observed in many human cancers. However, the functional role and precise mechanism of miR-663a have been controversial in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and need to be studied in depth.MethodsThe expression of miR-663a was detected in human cell lines and HCC tissues by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Cell proliferation was investigated using MTS, EdU, colony formation assays, and xenograft animal experiments, and the cell invasion capacity was evaluated using the transwell assay. The target gene of miR-663a was identified by qRT-PCR, Western blot, and dual-luciferase reporter assays. The clinicopathological features of miR-663a and the correlation between miR-663a and TGF-β1 expression were also investigated in the clinical samples of HCC.ResultsmiR-663a was significantly downregulated in HCC cells relative to immortal normal liver cells, as indicated using qRT-PCR, and the lower expression of miR-663a was also confirmed in HCC tissue samples and the data from TCGA. The expression of miR-663a in HCC tissue samples was statistically significantly associated with size and the number of tumors. In addition, the upregulation of miR-663a inhibited the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. Further study showed that miR-663a directly targeted transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) to suppress HCC invasion, and that the inhibitory effect of miR-663a on cell invasion could be regulated by TGF-β1. In vivo studies showed that miR-663a significantly inhibited tumor growth. A negative correlation between miR-663a and TGF-β1 expression was also confirmed from the clinical samples of HCC.ConclusionsmiR-663a acts as a tumor suppressor and exerts a substantial role in inhibiting the proliferation, invasion, and tumorigenesis of HCC by regulating TGF-β1 in vitro and in vivo. These observations indicate that miR-663a may be a suitable diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic target for the treatment of HCC.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a major health burden with limited curative treatment options. There is a substantial unmet need to develop innovative approaches to impact the progression of advanced HCC. Haprolid is a novel natural component isolated from myxobacteria. Haprolid has been reported as a potent selective cytotoxin against a panel of tumor cells in recent studies including HCC cells. The aims of this study are to evaluate the antitumor effect of haprolid in HCC and to understand its underlying molecular mechanisms. The efficacy of haprolid was evaluated in human HCC cell lines (Huh-7, Hep3B and HepG2) and xenograft tumors (NMRI-Foxn1nu mice with injection of Hep3B cells). Cytotoxic activity of haprolid was determined by the WST-1 and crystal violet assay. Wound healing, transwell and tumorsphere assays were performed to investigate migration and invasion of HCC cells. Apoptosis and cell-cycle distribution were measured by flow cytometry. The effects of haprolid on the Rb/E2F and Akt/mTOR pathway were examined by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. haprolid treatment significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was impaired by haprolid treatment and the expression level of N-cadherin, vimentin and Snail was downregulated. Moreover, growth of HCC cells in vitro was suppressed by inhibition of G1/S transition, and partially by induction of apoptosis. The drug induced downregulation of cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin A, cyclin B and CDK2 and induced upregulation of p21 and p27. Further evidence showed that these effects of haprolid were associated with Rb/E2F downregulation and Akt/mTOR inhibition. Finally, in vivo nude mice experiments demonstrated significant inhibition of tumor growth upon haprolid treatment. Our results show that haprolid inhibits the growth of HCC through dual inhibition of Rb/E2F and Akt/mTOR pathways. Therefore, haprolid might be considered as a new and promising candidate for the palliative therapy of HCC.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) are aggressive tumors with a poor prognosis. Approved first-line treatments include sorafenib, lenvatinib, and a combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab; however, they do not cure HCC. We investigated MBP-11901 as a drug candidate for HCC. Cell proliferation and cytotoxicity were evaluated using normal and cancer human liver cell lines, while Western blotting and flow cytometry evaluated apoptosis. The anticancer effect of MBP-11901 was verified in vitro through migration, invasion, colony formation, and JC-1 MMP assays. In mouse models, the tumor volume, tumor weight, and bodyweight were measured, and cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed. The toxicity of MBP-11901 was investigated through GOT/GPT and histological analyses in the liver and kidney. The signaling mechanism of MBP-11901 was investigated through kinase assays, phosphorylation analysis, and in silico docking simulations. Results. MBP-11901 was effective against various human HCC cell lines, leading to the disappearance of most tumors when administered orally in animal models. This effect was dose-dependent, with no differences in efficacy according to administration intervals. MBP-11901 induced anticancer effects by targeting the signaling mechanisms of FLT3, VEGFR2, c-KIT, and PDGFRβ. MBP-11901 is suggested as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of advanced or unresectable liver cancer.