• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.222-229
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• 2017

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were previously considered to have an anti-inflammatory effect, and Interleukin-$1{\beta}$ ($IL-1{\beta}$) was found to be a pro-inflammatory factor in chondrocytes, but the mechanism underlying ADSCs and $IL-1{\beta}$ is unclear. In this study, we investigate whether P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) signalling, regulated by microRNA 373 (miR-373), was involved in the ADSCs and $IL-1{\beta}$ mediated inflammation in osteoarthritis (OA). Chondrocytes were collected from 20 OA patients and 20 control participants, and ADSCs were collected from patients who had undergone abdominal surgery. The typical surface molecules of ASDCs were detected by flow cytometry. The level of nitric oxide (NO) was determined by Griess reagent. Concentrations of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin 6 (IL-6), matrix metallopeptidase 3 (MMP-3) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expressions of IL-6, MMP-3, miR-373 and P2X7R were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of P2X7R. The typical potential characters of ADSCs were verified. In chondrocytes or OA tissues, the miR-373 expression level was decreased, but the P2X7R expression was increased. $IL-1{\beta}$ stimulation increased the level of inflammatory factors in OA chondrocytes, and ADSCs co-cultured with $IL-1{\beta}$-stimulated chondrocytes decreased the inflammation. OA chondrocytes transfected with the miR-373 inhibitor increased the inflammation level. The miR-373 mimic suppressed the inflammation by targeting P2X7R and regulated its expression, while its effect was reversed by overexpression of P2X7R. $IL-1{\beta}$ induced inflammation in OA chondrocytes, while ADSCs seemed to inhibit the expression of P2X7R that was regulated by miR-373 and involved in the anti-inflammatory process in OA.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.8
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• pp.567-576
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• 2017

The $Na^+/H^+$ exchanger is responsible for maintaining the acidic tumor microenvironment through its promotion of the reabsorption of extracellular $Na^+$ and the extrusion of intracellular $H^+$. The resultant increase in the extracellular acidity contributes to the chemoresistance of malignant tumors. In this study, the chemosensitizing effects of cariporide, a potent $Na^+/H^+-exchange$ inhibitor, were evaluated in human malignant mesothelioma H-2452 cells preadapted with lactic acid. A higher basal level of phosphorylated (p)-AKT protein was found in the acid-tolerable H-2452AcT cells compared with their parental acid-sensitive H-2452 cells. When introduced in H-2452AcT cells with a concentration that shows only a slight toxicity in H-2452 cells, cariporide exhibited growth-suppressive and apoptosis-promoting activities, as demonstrated by an increase in the cells with pyknotic and fragmented nuclei, annexin V-PE(+) staining, a $sub-G_0/G_1$ peak, and a $G_2/M$ phase-transition delay in the cell cycle. Preceding these changes, a cariporide-induced p-AKT down-regulation, a p53 up-regulation, an ROS accumulation, and the depolarization of the mitochondrial-membrane potential were observed. A pretreatment with the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 markedly augmented the DNA damage caused by the cariporide, as indicated by a much greater extent of comet tails and a tail moment with increased levels of the p-histone H2A.X, $p-ATM^{Ser1981}$, $p-ATR^{Ser428}$, $p-CHK1^{Ser345}$, and $p-CHK2^{Thr68}$, as well as a series of pro-apoptotic events. The data suggest that an inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling is necessary to enhance the cytotoxicity toward the acidtolerable H-2452AcT cells, and it underlines the significance of proton-pump targeting as a potential therapeutic strategy to overcome the acidic-microenvironment-associated chemotherapeutic resistance.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.103-111
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• 2014

A1E is an extract from traditional Asian medicinal plants that has therapeutic activities against cancers, metabolic disease, and other intractable conditions. However, its mechanism of action on cervical cancer has not been studied. In order to ascertain if A1E would have pronounced anti-cervical cancer effect, cervical cancer cells were incubated with A1E and apoptosis was detected by nuclear morphological changes, annexin V-FITC/PI staining, cell cycle analysis, western blotting, Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential. Expression of human papiloma virus E6 and E7 oncogenes was down-regulated in A1E-treated cervical cancer cells, while p53 and retinoblastoma protein levels were enhanced. A1E also perturbed cell cycle progression at sub-G1 and altered cell cycle regulatory factors in SiHa cervical cancer cells. A1E activated apoptotic intrinsic pathway markers such as caspase-9, caspase-3 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase, and down-regulated expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. A1E induced mitochondrial membrane potential collapse and cytochrome c release, and inhibited phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, key factors involved in cell survival signaling. Taken all these results, A1E induced apoptosis via activation of the intrinsic pathway and inhibition of the PI3K/Akt survival-signaling pathway in SiHa cervical cancer cells. In conclusion, A1E exerts anti-proliferative action growth inhibition on cervical cancer cells through apoptosis which demonstrates its anti-cervical cancer properties.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.801-810
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• 2021

Objective: microRNAs (miRNAs) can play a role in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, and their role is achieved by regulating the expression of target genes. Our previous high-throughput sequencing found that ssc-miR-185 plays an important regulatory role in piglet diarrhea, but its specific target genes and functions in intestinal porcine epithelial cell (IPEC-J2) are still unclear. We intended to verify the target relationship between porcine miR-185 and cell division cycle 42 (CDC42) gene in IPEC-J2 and to explore the effect of miR-185 on the proliferation of IPEC-J2 cells. Methods: The TargetScan, miRDB, and miRanda software were used to predict the target genes of porcine miR-185, and CDC42 was selected as a candidate target gene. The CDC42-3' UTR-wild type (WT) and CDC42-3'UTR-mutant type (MUT) segments were successfully cloned into pmirGLO luciferase vector, and the luciferase activity was detected after co-transfection with miR-185 mimics and pmirGLO-CDC42-3'UTR. The expression level of CDC42 was analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. The proliferation of IPEC-J2 was detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays. Results: Double enzyme digestion and sequencing confirmed that CDC42-3'UTR-WT and CDC42-3'UTR-MUT were successfully cloned into pmirGLO luciferase reporter vector, and the luciferase activity was significantly reduced after co-transfection with miR-185 mimics and CDC42-3'UTR-WT. Further we found that the mRNA and protein expression level of CDC42 were down-regulated after transfection with miR-185 mimics, while the opposite trend was observed after transfection with miR-185 inhibitor (p<0.01). In addition, the CCK-8, MTT, and EdU results demonstrated that miR-185 promotes IPEC-J2 cells proliferation by targeting CDC42. Conclusion: These findings indicate that porcine miR-185 can directly target CDC42 and promote the proliferation of IPEC-J2 cells. However, the detailed regulatory mechanism of miR-185/CDC42 axis in piglets' resistance to diarrhea is yet to be elucidated in further investigation.

• Journal of Breast Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.371-381
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• 2018

Purpose: Immune suppression is common in patients with advanced breast cancer but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not been sufficiently studied. In this study, we aimed to identify B7 family members that were able to predict the immune status of patients, and which may serve as potential targets for the treatment of breast cancer. We also aimed to identify microRNAs that may regulate the expression of B7 family members. Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas data from 1,092 patients with breast cancer, including gene expression, microRNA expression and survival data, were used for statistical and survival analyses. Polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to measure messenger RNA and protein expression, respectively. Luciferase assay was used to investigate direct microRNA target. Results: Bioinformatic analysis predicted that microRNA (miR)-93, miR-195, miR-497, and miR-340 are potential regulators of the immune evasion of breast cancer cells, and that they exert this function by targeting CD274, PDCD1LG2, and NCR3LG1. We chose CD274 for further investigations. We found that miR-195, miR-497, and CD274 expression levels were inversely correlated in MDA-MB-231 cells, and miR-195 and miR-497 expressions mimic inhibited CD274 expression in vitro. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that miR-195 and miR-497 directly target CD274 3' untranslated region. Conclusion: Our data indicated that the level of B7 family members can predict the prognosis of breast cancer patients, and miR-195/miR-497 regulate CD274 expression in triple negative breast cancer. This regulation may further influence tumor progression and the immune tolerance mechanism in breast cancer and may be able to predict the effect of immunotherapy on patients.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.496-501
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• 2019

Conventionally, immunotoxins have been produced as a single polypeptide from fused genes of an antibody fragment and a toxin. In this study, we adopted a unique approach of chemical conjugation of a toxin protein and an antibody fragment. The two genes were separately expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to high levels of purity. The two purified proteins were conjugated using a chemical linker. The advantage of this approach is its ability to overcome the problem of low recombinant immunotoxin production observed in some immunotoxins. Another advantage is that various combinations of immunotoxins can be prepared with fewer efforts, because the chemical conjugation of components is relatively simpler than the processes involved in cloning, expression, and purification of multiple immunotoxins. As a proof of concept, the scFv of trastuzumab and the PE24 fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A were separately produced using E. coli and then chemically crosslinked. The new immunotoxin was tested on four breast cancer cell lines variably expressing HER2. The chemically crosslinked immunotoxin exhibited cytotoxicity in proportion to the expression level of HER2. In conclusion, the present study revealed an alternative method of generating an immunotoxin that could effectively reduce the viability of HER2-expressing breast cancer cells. These results suggest the effectiveness of this method of immunotoxin crosslinking as a suitable alternative for producing immunotoxins.

• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.1096-1106
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• 2018

Purpose: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. MicroRNAs have been identified as vital players in neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. microRNA-128 (miR-128) has been shown to be dysregulated in AD. This study aimed to explore the roles and molecular mechanisms of miR-128 in AD progression. Materials and Methods: Expression patterns of miR-128 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ($PPAR-{\gamma}$) messenger RNA in clinical samples and cells were measured using RT-qPCR assay. $PPAR-{\gamma}$ protein levels were determined by Western blot assay. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Cell apoptotic rate was detected by flow cytometry via double-staining of Annexin V-FITC/PI. Caspase 3 and $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity was determined by a Caspase 3 Activity Assay Kit or $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65 Transcription Factor Assay Kit, respectively. Bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter assay were used to investigate interactions between miR-128 and $PPAR-{\gamma}$ 3'UTR. Results: MiR-128 expression was upregulated and $PPAR-{\gamma}$ expression was downregulated in plasma from AD patients and $amyloid-{\beta}$ $(A{\beta})-treated$ primary mouse cortical neurons (MCN) and Neuro2a (N2a) cells. Inhibition of miR-128 decreased $A{\beta}-mediated$ cytotoxicity through inactivation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ in MCN and N2a cells. Moreover, $PPAR-{\gamma}$ was a target of miR-128. $PPAR-{\gamma}$ upregulation attenuated $A{\beta}-mediated$ cytotoxicity by inactivating $NF-{\kappa}B$ in MCN and N2a cells. Furthermore, $PPAR-{\gamma}$ downregulation was able to abolish the effect of anti-miR-128 on cytotoxicity and $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity in MCN and N2a cells. Conclusion: MiR-128 inhibitor decreased $A{\beta}-mediated$ cytotoxicity by upregulating $PPAR-{\gamma}$ via inactivation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ in MCN and N2a cells, providing a new potential target in AD treatment.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.551-561
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• 2021

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancers, such as papillary and follicular cancers, have a favorable prognosis. However, poorly differentiated thyroid cancers, such as medullary, squamous and anaplastic advanced thyroid cancers, are very aggressive and insensitive to radioiodine treatment. Thus, novel therapies that attenuate metastasis are urgently needed. We found that both PDGFC and PDGFRA are predominantly expressed in thyroid cancers and that the survival rate is significantly lower in patients with high PDGFRA expression. This finding indicates the important role of PDGF/PDGFR signaling in thyroid cancer development. Next, we established a SW579 squamous thyroid cancer cell line with 95.6% PDGFRA gene insertion and deletions (indels) through CRISPR/Cas9. Protein and invasion analysis showed a dramatic loss in EMT marker expression and metastatic ability. Furthermore, xenograft tumors derived from PDGFRA geneedited SW579 cells exhibited a minor decrease in tumor growth. However, distant lung metastasis was completely abolished upon PDGFRA gene editing, implying that PDGFRA could be an effective target to inhibit distant metastasis in advanced thyroid cancers. To translate this finding to the clinic, we used the most relevant multikinase inhibitor, imatinib, to inhibit PDGFRA signaling. The results showed that imatinib significantly suppressed cell growth, induced cell cycle arrest and cell death in SW579 cells. Our developed noninvasive apoptosis detection sensor (NIADS) indicated that imatinib induced cell apoptosis through caspase-3 activation. In conclusion, we believe that developing a specific and selective targeted therapy for PDGFRA would effectively suppress PDGFRA-mediated cancer aggressiveness in advanced thyroid cancers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.738-749
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• 2022

Background: Ginseng possesses antitumor effects, and ginsenosides are considered to be one of its main active chemical components. Ginsenosides can further be hydrolyzed to generate secondary saponins, and 20(R)-panaxotriol is an important sapogenin of ginsenosides. We aimed to synthesize a new ginsengenin derivative from 20(R)-panaxotriol and investigate its antitumor activity in vivo and in vitro. Methods: Here, 20(R)-panaxotriol was selected as a precursor and was modified into its derivatives. The new products were characterized by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and HR-MS and evaluated by molecular docking, MTT, luciferase reporter assay, western blotting, immunofluorescent staining, colony formation assay, EdU labeling and immunofluorescence, apoptosis assay, cells migration assay, transwell assay and in vivo antitumor activity assay. Results: The derivative with the best antitumor activity was identified as 6,12-dihydroxy-4,4,8,10,14-pentamethyl-17-(2,6,6-trimethyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)hexadecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-yl(tert-butoxycarbonyl)glycinate (A11). The focus of this research was on the antitumor activity of the derivatives. The efficacy of the derivative A11 (IC₅₀ < 0.3 µM) was more than 100 times higher than that of 20(R)- panaxotriol (IC₅₀ > 30 µM). In addition, A11 inhibited the protein expression and nuclear accumulation of the hypoxia-inducible factor HIF-1α in HeLa cells under hypoxic conditions in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, A11 dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HeLa cells, while promoting their apoptosis. Notably, the inhibition by A11 was more significant than that by 20(R)-panaxotriol (p < 0.01) in vivo. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the production of derivative A11 from 20(R)-panaxotriol and its superior antitumor activity compared to its precursor. Moreover, derivative A11 can be used to further study and develop novel antitumor drugs.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.639-652
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• 2022

The prolyl 3-hydroxylase family member 4 (P3H4), is associated with post-translational modification of fibrillar collagens and aberrantly activated in cancer leading to tumor progression. However, its role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is still unknown. Here we reported that P3H4 was highly expressed in renal cancer tissues and significantly positive correlated with poor prognosis. Knockdown of P3H4 inhibited the proliferation, migration and metastasis of renal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, and also, overexpression of it enhanced the oncogenic process. Mechanistically, P3H4 depletion decreased the levels of GDF15-MMP9 axis and repressed its downstream signaling. Further functional studies revealed that inhibition of GDF15 suppressed renal cancer cell growth and GDF15 recombinant human protein (rhGDF15) supplementation effectively rescued the inhibitory effect induced by P3H4 knockdown. Moreover, decreased levels of MMP9 caused by inhibition of P3H4-GDF15 signaling constrained the expression of PD-L1 and suppression of P3H4 accordingly promoted anti-tumor immunity via stimulating the infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in syngeneic mice model. Taken together, our findings firstly demonstrated that P3H4 promotes ccRCC progression by activating GDF15-MMP9-PD-L1 axis and targeting P3H4-GDF15-MMP9 signaling pathway can be a novel strategy of controlling ccRCC malignancy.