Molecular insight of p53/Sp1/MUC5AC axis in the tumorigenesis and progression of lung adenocarcinoma

The aberrant expression of secretory mucin MUC5AC has been documented during the tumourigenesis and progression of various cancers. However, little is currently known on the function of MUC5AC in lung adenocarcinoma. The present study focused on the tumour-promoting role of MUC5AC and its regulatory mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma. Firstly, MUC5AC expression was evaluated in NSCLC tissue microarrays by immunohistochemistry. Kaplan–Meier analysis were used to clarify the prognostic value of MUC5AC. Subsequently, small interfering RNA and small hairpin RNA were used to knockdown MUC5AC in lung ADC cell lines to elucidate its role in tumorigenesis and progression of lung adenocarcinoma via in vitro functional assays and xenograft mouse models. Finally, the regulatory mechanisms underlying p53/Sp1/MUC5AC axis were identified through dual-luciferase report. We found that MUC5AC was upregulated in lung ADC tissues and cell lines, especially in KRAS-mutant cases and correlated with poor prognosis. MUC5AC gene silencing resulted in reduced cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Furthermore, knockdown of MUC5AC led to reversion of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Additionally, downregulation of MUC5AC reduced tumourigenesis in mouse models. Finally, we found an antagonistic role between Sp1 and p53 in the regulation of MUC5AC gene expression. Our findings suggest that high MUC5AC expression promotes tumourigenesis and progression of lung ADC. Both p53 gene inactivation and Sp1 overexpression in lung ADC may enhance MUC5AC expression, especially in KRAS-mutated cases. Given the paucity of efficient drug-targeted approaches of KRAS-driven lung ADCs, therapies directed at downstream effectors such as MUC5AC could have huge prospects.     

二甲基次胂酸促小鼠皮肤肿瘤发生与诱发氧化应激

目的研究二甲基次胂酸对小鼠皮肤促肿瘤发生与诱发氧化应激之间的关系。方法利用7,12二甲基苯并蒽(DMBA)作为始动剂,无机砷主要甲基化代谢产物DMA(V)进一步还原代谢生成的二甲基次胂酸[DMA(Ⅲ)]作为促进剂的致小鼠皮肤肿瘤两阶段动物模型;观察肿瘤的发生数,通过高效液相色谱法(HPLC),测量小鼠皮肤中DNA氧化损伤的生物标志物8-氧-2′-脱氧鸟嘌呤核苷(8-oxodG)的变化。结果在致小鼠皮肤肿瘤动物模型中,背部皮肤局部连续涂抹DMA(Ⅲ),观察到皮肤肿瘤数及表皮组织8-oxodG的生成量明显增多(P<0.05)。结论无机砷甲基化代谢产物的促肿瘤发生作用与DMA(V)在体内进一步还原代谢生成的代谢产物DMA(Ⅲ)诱发的氧化应激密切相关。     

微小RNA在人髓母细胞瘤中的初步表达分析

目的检测人髓母细胞瘤(MB)与非肿瘤脑组织中微小RNA(miRNA)的表达差异情况,为进一步探讨miRNA参与MB发病的可能分子机制打下基础。方法选取经手术切除的MB组织标本及瘤旁正常小脑组织,分别提取总RNA和小分子RNA,在miRNA微阵列芯片中杂交检测,通过芯片扫描和数据分析,获得该病异常miRNAs表达谱。结果利用miRNA微阵列芯片技术筛选出9个MB的相关miRNAs,其中表达上调4个,表达下调5个。结论miRNA微阵列分析技术是一种快速、高效的研究生物信息的分子生物学技术;筛选出的差异表达miRNAs可能参与MB发病,为此病诊治提供了新的思路,值得进一步研究。     

Mechanistic Models Fit to ED001 Data on >40,000 Trout Exposed to Dibenzo[A,L]pyrene Indicate Mutations Do Not Drive Increased Tumor Risk

ED₀₀₁-study data on increased liver and stomach tumor risks in >40,000 trout fed dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBP), one of the most potently mutagenic chemical carcinogens known, provide the greatest low-dose dose-response resolution of any experimentally induced tumor data set to date. Although multistage somatic mutation/clonal-expansion cancer theory predicts that genotoxic carcinogens increase tumor risk in linear no-threshold proportion to dose at low doses, ED₀₀₁ tumor data curiously exhibit substantial low-dose nonlinearity. To explore the role that nongenotoxic mechanisms may have played to yield such nonlinearity, the liver and stomach tumor data sets were each fit by two models that each assume a genotoxic and a nongenotoxic pathway to increased tumor risk: the stochastic 2-stage (MVK) cancer model, and a model implementing the more recent dysregulated adaptive hyperplasia (DAH) theory of tumorigenesis. MVK and DAH fits to the data sets were each excellent, but unexpectedly each MVK fit implies that DBP acts to increase tumor risk by entirely non-mutagenic mechanisms. Given that DBP is such a potent mutagen, the MVK-model fits obtained appear to be biologically implausible, whereas the DAH-model fits reflect that model’s assumption that chemical-induced tumorigenesis typically is driven by elevated repair-cell populations rather than mutations per se.     

Tumorigenesis in p27/p53- and p18/p53-double null mice: functional collaboration between the pRb and p53 pathways

Mice lacking both p18(Ink4c) and p27(Kip1) develop a tumor spectrum similar to pRb(+/-) mice, and loss of p53 function accelerates tumorigenesis in pRb(+/-) mice. We hypothesized that codeletion of either p18 or p27 in conjunction with p53 deletion will also accelerate tumorigenesis. Mice lacking both p18 and p53 develop several tumors not reported in either single null genotype, including hepatocellular carcinoma, testicular choriocarcinoma, hemangiosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, and osteosarcoma. Mice lacking both p27 and p53 exhibit a decreased lifespan and develop unique tumors, including papillary carcinoma of the colon, hemangiosarcoma, and leiomyosarcoma. In both p18/p53 and p27/p53 double null genotypes, the incidence and spectra of tissues that develop lymphoma are also increased, as compared to the single null genotypes. The development of p27/p53 double null colon tumors correlates with secondary changes in cell-cycle protein expression and CDK (cyclin-dependent kinase) activity, perhaps contributing to the progression of colorectal cancer. We concluded that p18 and p27 can, not only functionally collaborate with one another, but also can independently collaborate with p53 to modulate the cell cycle and suppress tumorigenesis in a tissue-specific manner.     

Clonal chromosomal aberrations in simian virus 40-transfected human thyroid cells and in derived tumors developed after in vitro irradiation.

In vitro model cell systems are important tools for studying mechanisms of radiation-induced neoplastic transformation of human epithelial cells. In our study, the human thyroid epithelial cell line HTori-3 was analyzed cytogenetically following exposure to different doses of alpha- and gamma-irradiation and subsequent tumor formation in athymic nude mice. Combining results from G-banding, comparative genomic hybridization, and spectral karyotyping, chromosome abnormalities could be depicted in the parental line HTori-3 and in nine different HTori lines established from the developed tumors. A number of chromosomal aberrations were found to be characteristic for simian virus 40 immortalization and/or radiation-induced transformation of human thyroid epithelial cells. Common chromosomal changes in cell lines originating from different irradiation experiments were loss of 8q23 and 13cen-q21 as well as gain of 1q32-qter and 2q11.2-q14.1. By comparison of chromosomal aberrations in cell lines exhibiting a different tumorigenic behavior, cytogenetic markers important for the tumorigenic process were studied. It appeared that deletions on chromosomes 9q32-q34 and 7q21-q31 as well as an increased copy number of chromosome 20 were important for the tumorigenic phenotype. A comparative breakpoint analysis of the marker chromosomes found and those observed in radiation-induced childhood thyroid tumors from Belarus revealed a coincidence for a number of chromosome bands. Thus, the data support the usefulness of the established cell system as an in vitro model to study important steps during radiation-induced malignant transformation in human thyroid cells.     

Calcium hydroxyapatite promotes mitogenesis and matrix metalloproteinase expression in human breast cancer cell lines.

Radiographic mammary microcalcifications are one of the most pertinent diagnostic markers of breast cancer. Breast tissue calcification in the form of calcium hydroxyapatite (HA) is strongly associated with malignant disease. We tested the hypothesis that calcium HA may exert biological effects on surrounding cells, thereby facilitating breast cancer progression. Our findings showed that HA crystals enhanced mitogenesis in breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and Hs578T and also in normal human mammary epithelial cells. HA crystals were also found to upregulate the production of a variety of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), including MMP-2, -9, and -13 in MCF-7 and MMP-9 in human mammary epithelial cell lines. HA crystals were found to greatly augment prostaglandin E(2) levels in Hs578T cells, and treatment with a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, aspirin, abrogated the HA-induced mitogenesis. These results suggest that calcium HA crystals may play an active role in amplifying the pathological process involved in breast cancer.     

Synergistic Effects of High-dose Soybean Intake with Iodine Deficiency, but Not Sulfadimethoxine or Phenobarbital, on Rat Thyroid Proliferation

The specificity and dose dependence of the synergistic effects of soybean intake with iodine deficiency on the induction of thyroid proliferation were investigated in female F344 rats. In the first experiment, rats were divided into 6 groups, each consisting of 5 annuals, and fed a basal diet containing 20% gluten, an iodine-deficient basal diet alone or an iodine-deficient diet containing 0.2%, 1.0%, 5.0% or 25% defatted soybean for 5 weeks. Soybean feeding synergistically induced thyroid hyperplasias with iodine deficiency only at the 25% dose. In the second experiment, rats were also divided into 6 groups, each consisting of 5 animals, and fed a basal diet, a diet containing 20% defatted soybean, 0.025% Sulfadimethoxine (SDM), 20% defatted soybean+0.025% SDM, 0.05% phenobarbital (PB) or 20% defatted soybean+0.05% PB for 5 weeks. The SDM treatments significantly (P<0.05-0.01) increased the thyroid weights, but this increase rate was less prominent in the SDM+soybean group than in the SDM alone group. The PB treatment was also associated with a tendency for increase in thyroid weight, but again this was smaller in the PB+soybean group than in the PB alone group. Although the SDM or PB treatments reduced the serum triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels and consequently increased the serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, the soybean feeding did not affect or rather attenuated these changes. Our results clearly indicate that soybean feeding does not synergistically enhance the effects of SDM or PB on the rat thyroid. Thus it can be concluded that soybean intake specifically interacts with iodine deficiency in induction of thyroid proliferative lesions in rats, only at high doses.