Yuchan Wang

Expression of CRM1 in human gliomas and its significance in p27 expression and clinical prognosis.

OBJECTIVEGliomas are the most common type of primary intracranial tumor. Although tumor grade predicts the clinical course of most patients, molecular characteristics of individual tumors have emerged as important prognostic factors for patients with gliomas. Reduced expression of p27 protein is known as an independent prognostic marker in a large variety of cancers and is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. It is believed that phosphorylation of p27 on Ser10 has been shown to be required for the binding of CRM1, a carrier protein for nuclear export. This study assessed whether CRM1, Ser10-phosphorylated p27, and p27 correlated with each other, with glioma pathological stage, and with patient outcome. METHODSImmunohistochemical and Western blot analysis were performed in 70 cases of human gliomas and normal brain tissues. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTSHigh CRM1 expression (80% of cancer cell nuclei stained) was observed in 70 specimens and was related to the grade of malignancy. A strong inverse correlation was evident between p27 levels and both Ser10-phosphorylated p27 (P < 0.001) and CRM1 level (P < 0.001). We also reviewed each grade of tumors separately and investigated whether CRM1 expression predicted patient survival within each subgroup. In brief, CRM1 overexpression was significantly associated with overall survival (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONThe current results showed that CRM1 and p27 expression were associated with glioma grade and that high CRM1 protein expression might be related to poor outcome.

Low expression of Foxo3a is associated with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients.

To investigate whether Foxo3a expression is correlated with p27kip1 protein levels as well as how it might be clinically relevant, we evaluated the expression of Foxo3a in several ovarian tumors. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in 63 cases of ovarian tumors. Ten cases were evaluated by Western blot analysis. There was a correlation observed between Foxo3a over-expression and clinic pathological parameters (p = 0.032). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that Foxo3a low expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis of patients. It may be a useful prognostic marker and target in ovarian cancer.

Early mitotic inhibitor-1, an anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome inhibitor, can control tumor cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma: correlation with Skp2 stability and degradation of p27Kip1

Early mitotic inhibitor-1 (Emi1) is a key cell-cycle regulator that promotes S-phase and M-phase entry by inhibiting anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) activity. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in 114 human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples, and the data were correlated with clinicopathologic features. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed to determine the prognostic significance of the proteins. Expression of Emi1 correlated directly with the stage of HCC. More importantly, high expression of Emi1 was associated with a poor outcome. Western blot analysis showed that Emi1 was highly expressed in HCC compared with the adjacent noncancerous tissue. In vitro, after the release of HCC cell lines from serum starvation, the expression of Emi1 APC/C substrates (cyclins A, B) and Skp2 was up-regulated, whereas p27(Kip1) was down-regulated. In addition, we used small interfering RNA to knock out Emi1 expression and observed its effects on HCC growth in vitro to determine whether loss of Emi1 could inhibit cell proliferation by blocking S-phase and mitotic entry. Western blot analyses indicated that deletion of Emi1 was positively correlated with APC/C substrates (cyclins A, B) and Skp2 but was negatively correlated with p27(Kip1). Emi1 inhibits APC/C activity, whereas Skp2 degradation is mediated by APC/C, and degradation of Skp2 can stabilize p27(kip1). These results suggested that Emi1 participates in HCC cell proliferation and that progression is controlled by APC/C inhibition, which stabilized Skp2 and enabled p27(kip1) degradation. These findings provide a potential therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Pyruvate kinase isoform M2 (PKM2) participates in multiple myeloma cell proliferation, adhesion and chemoresistance

Cell adhesion mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) remains the major barrier in human multiple myeloma (MM) therapy. In the present study, we aimed at investigating the role of pyruvate kinase isoform M2 (PKM2) in MM CAM-DR. We determined that PKM2 expression was positively correlated with cell proliferation and knockdown of PKM2 contributed to the increased cell adhesion rate in MM. The enhancement in the adhesion of MM cells to fibronectin or the bone marrow stroma cell line HS-5 cells translated to an increased CAM-DR phenotype. Importantly, we showed that this CAM-DR phenotype was correlated with the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK in MM cells. Taken together, our data shed new light on the molecular mechanism of CAM-DR in MM, and targeting PKM2 may be a novel therapeutic approach for improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy in MM.

Upregulated expression of ILF2 in non-small cell lung cancer is associated with tumor cell proliferation and poor prognosis

ILF2 (NF45) is a sequence-specific DNA binding protein that is involved in mitosis control, transcriptional regulation, DNA breaks repair, microRNA processing and viral replication. In the present study, we aim to investigate the potential role of ILF2 in the progression of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Western blot analysis indicated that ILF2 was up-regulated in NSCLC tissues, compared with adjacent non-tumorous ones. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the expression of ILF2 was correlated with histological differentiation, clinical stage and Ki-67 expression in NSCLC specimens. In addition, using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, we found that high expression of ILF2 predicted poor outcome in NSCLC patients. Furthermore, we showed that up-regulated expression of ILF2 might play a regulatory role in the proliferation of NSCLC cells using serum starvation and release assay. Moreover, knockdown of ILF2 inhibited cell proliferation and cell cycle progress of NSCLC cells. In conclusion, our results indicated that ILF2 was involved in the pathogenesis of NSCLC and might be a potential target for NSCLC therapy.

Jun activation domain-binding protein 1 negatively regulate p27kip1 in non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas

Objective: Recent evidences suggest that Jun activation domain-binding protein 1(Jab1) specifically interacts with the Cdk inhibitor p27kip1 and induces nuclear export and subsequent degradation of p27kip1. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether Jab1 expression is correlated with p27kip1 level in Non-Hodgkins Lymphomas(NHLs) and how it influenced the stability of p27kip1, as well as whether Jab1 expression is associated with clinicopathologic variables and prognosis of NHLs.Methods: Immunohistochemical and/or Western blot analysis was done in 116 cases of NHLs and Jurkat cells.Results: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that Jab1 expression was negatively associated with p27kip1 level and significantly associated with unfavorable clinicopathologic variables. Overexpression Jab1 in lymphoma cell lines Jurkat resulted in decreased p27kip1 level and advanced progression from G1 to S phase of the cell cycle. Subcellular fractionation confirmed Jab1 could lead to nuclear export of p27kip1. Phosphorylation of p27kip1 at Ser10 and Thr157 was significantly increased after Jab1 transient transfected, while Thr187 phosphorylation was decreased. Immunoprecipitation demonstrated that Jab1 overexpression facilitated p27kip1 to dissociate from Cdk2 and associated with Cdk4. Finally, Survival analysis revealed that Jab1 overexpression is significantly associated with overall survival (P=0.000). When Jab1 and p27kip1 are combined, patients with Jab1(+)/p27kip1(-) revealed poorer overall survival (P=0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that Jab1 protein is an independent prognostic indicator for overall survival.Conclusions: These findings suggest that Jab1 protein may contribute to the tumor progression through Jab1-mediated p27kip1 degradation and that control of Jab1 expression is a novel therapeutic target in patients with NHLs.

Expression of Foxo3a in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas is correlated with cell cycle inhibitor p27kip1

Objective:  Cell cycle arrest by FOXO transcription factors involves in transcriptional activation of p27kip1, although the exact mechanism remains unclear. And it has been evidenced that reduced level of p27kip1 which is frequently occurred in human cancers has been associated with poor prognosis. In this study, our purpose is to investigate the clinical relevance of altered patterns of Foxo3a and p27kip1 expression in Chinese patients with localized non‐Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL).

ENO1 promotes tumor proliferation and cell adhesion mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas

Enolases are glycolytic enzymes responsible for the ATP-generated conversion of 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate. In addition to the glycolytic function, Enolase 1 (ENO1) has been reported up-regulation in several tumor tissues. In this study, we investigated the expression and biologic function of ENO1 in Non-Hodgkins Lymphomas (NHLs). Clinically, by western blot analysis we observed that ENO1 expression was apparently higher in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma than in the reactive lymphoid tissues. Subsequently, immunohistochemical staining of 144 NHLs suggested that the expression of ENO1 was significantly lower in the indolent lymphomas compared with the progressive lymphomas. Further, we identified ENO1 as an independent prognostic factor, and it was significantly correlated with overall survival of NHL patients. In addition, we found that ENO1 could promote cell proliferation, regulate cell cycle associated gene and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in NHLs. Finally, we verified that ENO1 participated in the process of lymphoma cell adhesion mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR). Adhesion to FN or HS5 cells significantly protected OCI-Ly8 and Daudi cells from cytotoxicity compared with those cultured in suspension, and these effects were attenuated when transfected with ENO1-siRNA. Based on the study, we propose that inhibition of ENO1 expression may be a novel strategy for therapy for NHLs patients, and it may be a target for drug resistance.

Clinical and biological significance of forkhead class box O 3a expression in glioma: mediation of glioma malignancy by transcriptional regulation of p27kip1

Forkhead box class O 3a (FOXO3a) is an important direct target of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein B(Akt) pathway, mediating signal transduction in regulating cell survival and cell-cycle progression. Recent reports have shown that FOXO3a inhibits cell-cycle progression at the G1/S transition by controlling transcription of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1, which is frequently down-regulated in human cancers, including human glioma. In this study we investigated the status of FOXO3a expression and related signaling in human glioma in order to test its potential value as a therapeutic target for this disease. Immunohistochemistry, western blot, RT-PCR, and immunofluorescence staining analysis were performed on specimens from 70 cases of human glioma and on U87MG and T98G glioma cells. Our data showed FOXO3a expression is directly correlated with the malignant grade of glioma. More importantly, low expression of FOXO3a was associated with poor patient outcome. In vitro, FOXO3a modulated the cell cycle by transcriptional regulation of p27kip1. Administration of the PI3K pharmacological inhibitor LY294002 abrogated this effect by regulating FOXO3a expression and subcellular localization. Our results suggested that FOXO3a may be a favorable independent prognostic indicator of glioma. Gene therapeutic approaches aimed at PI3K or at pharmacological inhibitors of PI3K to down-regulate P-FOXO3a expression could be developed for management of glioma.

High Expression of SGTA in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Correlates With Proliferation and Poor Prognosis

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) expression and the growth factor such as platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) and their receptors have been considered relevant in the process of angiogenesis and dissemination in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Small glutamine‐rich tetratricopeptide repeat‐containing protein alpha (SGTA) downstream of RTK signaling was a critical regulator of PDGF receptors (PDGFR) stability. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression of SGTA and to elucidate its clinicopathologic significance in ESCC. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were performed for SGTA in ESCC samples. SGTA was up‐regulated in ESCC as compared with the adjacent normal tissue. High expression of SGTA was associated with tumor grade (P < 0.01), and SGTA was positively correlated with proliferation marker Ki‐67 (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that SGTA expression did has a remarkable prediction for poor prognosis (P = 0.016). Knockdown or overexpression of SGTA affected ESCC cells proliferation and cell cycle. Additionally, after ESCC cells silenced for SGTA were treated with cisplatin (an anti‐ESCC agent), the cell growth was down‐regulated. These findings suggested that SGTA was involved in the pathogenesis of ESCC and might indicate a poor prognosis for ESCC patients. J. Cell. Biochem. 115: 141–150, 2014.