GPER促进乳腺癌相关成纤维细胞的有氧糖酵解

为探讨GPER基因的活化对人乳腺癌相关成纤维细胞(CAF)有氧糖酵解的影响,本研究构建GPERsi RNA慢病毒,转染CAF细胞,以构建GPER敲低的稳定细胞系;对照组(CAF-shNC)和GPER-shRNA慢病毒感染组(CAF-shGPER组),经嘌呤霉素筛选后,实时荧光定量PCR和蛋白印迹法检测GPER的m RNA及蛋白的表达;用GPER特异性激动剂G1 (1μmol/L)处理以上两组细胞,得到G1+CAF-shNC和G1+CAFsh GPER,应用蛋白印迹法分别检测以上4组细胞中GPER下游基因p-PKA和p-CREB的表达;采用实时荧光定量PCR和蛋白印迹法检测CREB糖酵解相关靶基因PDK4和LDHB的表达,应用葡萄糖、乳酸检测试剂盒检测4组细胞中葡萄糖消耗,乳酸生成情况。最终,成功构建GPER敲低的CAF稳定细胞系;GPER特异性激动剂G1可明显上调CAF-shNC组中GPER mRNA和蛋白水平;G1+CAF-shNC与CAF-shNC和G1+CAFsh GPER组相比,GPER下游基因PKA和CREB的磷酸化水平显著增加(p<0.05);CREB糖酵解相关靶基因PDK4和LDHB的mRNA和蛋白水平明显上调(p<0.05);葡萄糖消耗量和乳酸生成量明显增加(p<0.05)。由此可得,在人乳腺癌相关成纤维细胞中,GPER特异性激动剂G1活化GPER促进CAF的有氧糖酵解。     

MicroRNA-143 (miR-143) regulates cancer glycolysis via targeting hexokinase 2 gene

High glycolysis, well known as "Warburg effect," is frequently observed in a variety of cancers. Whether the deregulation of miRNAs contributes to the Warburg effect remains largely unknown. Because miRNA regulates gene expression at both mRNA and protein levels, we constructed a gene functional association network, which allows us to detect the gene activity instead of gene expression, to integratively analyze the microarray data for gene expression and miRNA expression profiling and identify glycolysis-related gene-miRNA pairs deregulated in cancer. Hexokinase 2 (HK2), coding for the first rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis, is among the top list of genes predicted and potentially regulated by multiple miRNAs including miR-143. Interestingly, miR-143 expression was inversely associated with HK2 protein level but not mRNA level in human lung cancer samples. miR-143, down-regulated by mammalian target of rapamycin activation, reduces glucose metabolism and inhibits cancer cell proliferation and tumor formation through targeting HK2. Collectively, we have not only established a novel methodology for gene-miRNA pair prediction but also identified miR-143 as an essential regulator of cancer glycolysis via targeting HK2.     

HOTAIR/miR-125 axis-mediated Hexokinase 2 expression promotes chemoresistance in human glioblastoma

Drug resistance is one of the major obstacles in glioblastoma (GBM) treatments using temozolomide (TMZ) based conventional chemotherapy. Recent studies revealed that Hexokinase 2 (HK2)-mediated glycolysis is one of the sources, as the association of chemoresistance and the expression of HK2 was confirmed in multiple cancers. However, there has been little knowledge of the functional contribution of HK2 to TMZ resistance in GBM. In our study, we found that HK2 expression is crucial for GBM proliferation and chemoresistance. In contrast to the healthy brain, HK2 expression is much higher in human GBM, especially in those patients with GBM recurrence. High HK2 expression is negatively related to the overall survival in GBM patients. HK2 depletion in GBM cells suppressed the GBM cell proliferation and increased sensitivity to TMZ-induced apoptosis. Both HK2-mediated glycolysis and mitochondria permeability transition pore opening (MPTP) were associated with its function in chemoresistance. Furthermore, we also revealed that the abnormal expression of HK2 was modulated by the expression of HOTAIR, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). The absence of HOTAIR in GBM cells suppressed the HK2 expression in protein and mRNA level and, therefore, inhibited the cell proliferation and enhanced the cytotoxicity of TMZ both in vivo and in vitro. HOTAIR promoted the expression of HK2 by targeting mir-125, which suppressed the GBM cell proliferation and increased the TMZ-induced apoptosis. These findings shed light on a new therapeutic strategy in modulating HOTAIR/miR-125, which may interfere with the expression of HK2, and enhance the therapeutic sensitivity of GBM to TMZ.     

Hsa_circ_0069094 accelerates cell malignancy and glycolysis through regulating the miR-591/HK2 axis in breast cancer

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are implicated in the initiation and advancement of diverse tumors. CircRNA hsa_circ_0069094 (circ_0069094) has been reported to be upregulated in BC, but the biological role of circ_0069094 in BC is indistinct. Hence, we aimed to survey the biological role of circ_0069094 in BC. In the present study, we verified that circ_0069094 was upregulated in BC tissues and cells. BC patients with high circ_0069094 expression had a poor prognosis. Functional analysis revealed that circ_0069094 silencing induced apoptosis, curbed proliferation, and reduced glycolysis in BC cells in vitro, but circ_0069094 overexpression had an opposing influence. Also, circ_0069094 knockdown reduced BC growth in vivo. Mechanically, circ_0069094 was validated as a decoy for miR-591, which targeted HK2. Importantly, circ_0069094 sponged miR-591 to regulate HK2 expression. Both miR-591 silencing and HK2 overexpression counteracted circ_0069094 inhibition-mediated influence on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and glycolysis in BC cells. In conclusion, these results indicated that circ_0069094 facilitated cell malignancy and glycolysis by upregulating HK2 through adsorbing miR-591, suggesting that circ_0069094 might be a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for BC.     

miR-625-5p/PKM2 negatively regulates melanoma glycolysis state

PKM2 plays an important role in cancer glycolysis, however, the link of PKM2 and microRNAs (miRNAs) in melanoma is still unclear. The study will investigate the role of miRNAs in regulating PKM2 mediated melanoma cell glycolysis. We found that high PKM2 expression in melanoma tissues and cell lines was positively associated with glycolysis. Further study indicated that miR-625-5p regulated PKM2 expression on mRNA and protein levels in melanoma cells. There was a negative relationship between miR-625-5p and PKM2 expression in the clinical melanoma samples. These findings provide an evidence that miR-625-5p/PKM2 plays a role in melanoma cell glucose metabolism.     

Upregulated miR-182 increases drug resistance in cisplatin-treated HCC cell by regulating TP53INP1

Chemotherapy plays a crucial role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment especially for patients with advanced HCC. Cisplatin is one of the commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of HCC. However, acquisition of cisplatin resistance is common in patients with HCC, and the underlying mechanism of such resistance is not fully understood. In the study, we focused on identifying the role of miRNAs in chemotherapy resistance after cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. We assayed the expression level of miR-182 after cisplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced HCC, and defined the biological functions by real-time PCR analysis and CCK-8 assay. We found that miR-182 levels were significantly increased in HCC patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. miR-182 levels were also higher in cisplatin-resistant HepG2 (HepG2-R) cells than in HepG2 cells. Upregulated miR-182 significantly increased the cell viability, whereas miR-182 knockdown reduced the cell viability during cisplatin treatment. miR-182 inhibition also partially overcame cisplatin resistance in HepG2-R cell. Furthermore, we found that upregulated miR-182 inhibited the expression of tumor suppressor gene TP53INP1 (tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein1) in vitro. In vivo, miR-182 and TP53INP1 expression was negatively correlated. We finally demonstrated that miR-182 increased cisplatin resistance of HCC cell, partly by targeting TP53INP1. These data suggest that miR-182/TP53INP1 signaling represents a novel pathway regulating chemoresistance, thus offering a new target for chemotherapy of HCC.     

Focal Adhesion Kinase Knockdown in Carcinoma‐Associated Fibroblasts Inhibits Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Metastasis via Downregulating MCP‐1/CCL2 Expression

Carcinoma‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been demonstrated to play an important role in the occurrence and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of CAFs on OSCC cells and to explore the role of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in this process. The results showed that oral CAFs expressed a higher level of FAK than normal human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs), and the conditioned medium (CM) of CAFs could induce the invasion and migration of SCC‐25, one oral squamous carcinoma cell line. However, knockdown of FAK by small interfering RNA (siRNA) resulted in inhibition of CAF–CM induced cell invasion and migration in SCC‐25, probably by reducing the production of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1/CCL2), one of downstream target chemokines. Therefore, our findings indicated that targeting FAK in CAFs might be a promising strategy for the treatment of OSCC in the future.     

Role of MicroRNA-182 in Posterior Uveal Melanoma: Regulation of Tumor Development through MITF, BCL2 and Cyclin D2

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small non-coding RNAs that play central roles in diverse pathological processes. In this study, we investigated the effect of microRNA-182 (miR-182) on the development of posterior uveal melanomas. Initially, we demonstrated that miR-182 expression was dependent on p53 induction in uveal melanoma cells. Interestingly, transient transfection of miR-182 into cultured uveal melanoma cells led to a significant decrease in cell growth, migration, and invasiveness. Cells transfected with miR-182 demonstrated cell cycle G1 arrest and increased apoptotic activity. Using bioinformatics, we identified three potential targets of miR-182, namely MITF, BCL2 and cyclin D2. miR-182 was shown to have activity on mRNA expression by targeting the 3' untranslated region of MITF, BCL2 and cyclin D2. Subsequent Western blot analysis confirmed the downregulation of MITF, BCL2 and cyclin D2 protein expression. The expression of oncogene c-Met and its downstream Akt and ERK1/2 pathways was also downregulated by miR-182. Concordant with the findings that miR-182 was decreased in uveal melanoma tissue samples, overexpression of miR-182 also suppressed the in vivo growth of uveal melanoma cells. Our results demonstrated that miR-182, a p53 dependent miRNA, suppressed the expression of MITF, BCL2, cyclin D2 and functioned as a potent tumor suppressor in uveal melanoma cells.     

CircCDC6 restrains tumor growth and glycolysis energy metabolism in colorectal cancer via regulating miR-3187-3p and downstream PRKAA2

The aberrant downregulation of circCDC6 in colorectal cancer (CRC) was previously identified by circRNA microarray analysis. However, the detailed role of circCDC6 in CRC is still lacking. We thus investigated the function of circCDC6 in CRC. The expression of circCDC6, miR-3187-3p and PRKAA2 mRNA was checked by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Cell growth was evaluated by MTT, EdU and colony formation assays. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. Glycolysis was evaluated by glycolysis stress test and lactic acid level. The expression of PRKAA2, HK2 and LDHA proteins was checked by western blotting. The potential binding between miR-3187-3p and circCDC6 or PRKAA2 was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay and pull-down assay. Xenograft model was established in nude mice. CircCDC6 showed poor expression in CRC tumor samples and cells. CircCDC6 ectopic expression repressed CRC cell proliferation, survival and glycolysis energy metabolism. MiR-3187-3p was targeted by circCDC6, and miR-3187-3p depletion also repressed CRC cell growth and glycolysis. PRKAA2 was a downstream target of circCDC6/miR-3187-3p pathway, and circCDC6 upregulated PRKAA2 expression via targeting miR-3187-3p. PRKAA2 knockdown rescued the functional effects of circCDC6 ectopic expression. CircCDC6 overexpression in vivo impeded tumor development in animal models. CircCDC6, acting as a tumor inhibitor, repressed tumor growth and glycolysis metabolism in CRC via targeting the miR-3187-3p/PRKAA2 axis, which partly clarified the role of circCDC6 in CRC.

     

ANXA2P2/miR-9/LDHA axis regulates Warburg effect and affects glioblastoma proliferation and apoptosis

BackgroundAerobic glycolysis is a unique tumor cell phenotype considered as one of the hallmarks of cancer. Aerobic glycolysis can accelerate tumor development by increasing glucose uptake and lactate production. In the present study, lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) is significantly increased within glioma tissue samples and cells, further confirming the oncogenic role of LDHA within glioma.MethodsHematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining were applied for histopathological examination. The protein levels of LDHA, transporter isoform 1 (GLUT1), hexokinase 2 (HK2), phosphofructokinase (PFK) in target cells were detected by Immunoblotting. The predicted miR-9 binding to lncRNA Annexin A2 Pseudogene 2 (ANXA2P2) or the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of LDHA was verified using Luciferase reporter assay. Cell viability or apoptosis were examined by MTT assay or Flow cytometry. Intracellular glucose and Lactate levels were measured using glucose assay kit and lactate colorimetric assay kit.ResultsThe expression of ANXA2P2 showed to be dramatically upregulated within glioma tissue samples and cells. Knocking down ANXA2P2 within glioma cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis, as manifested as decreased lactate and increased glucose in culture medium, and downregulated protein levels of glycolysis markers, GLUT1, HK2, PFK, as well as LDHA. miR-9 was predicted to target both lncRNA ANXA2P2 and LDHA. The overexpression of miR-9 suppressed the cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis of glioma cells. Notably, miR-9 could directly bind to LDHA 3′UTR to inhibit LDHA expression and decrease the protein levels of LDHA. ANXA2P2 competitively targeted miR-9, therefore counteracting miR-9-mediated repression on LDHA. Within tissues, miR-9 exhibited a negative correlation with ANXA2P2 and LDHA, respectively, whereas ANXA2P2 and LDHA exhibited a positive correlation with each other.ConclusionsIn conclusion, ANXA2P2/miR-9/LDHA axis modulates the aerobic glycolysis progression in glioma cells, therefore affecting glioma cell proliferation.     

lncRNA PCAT19 promotes the proliferation of laryngocarcinoma cells via modulation of the miR-182/PDK4 axis

The mechanism of tumorigenesis has not been fully identified in laryngeal cancer, which accounts for one fourth of patents with head and neck tumors. Long noncoding RNA PCAT19 has been shown to participate in the prostate cancer progression. However, little is known about the role of PCAT19 in the tumorigenesis of laryngeal cancer. In our study, it was shown that the expression levels of PCAT19 was increased in laryngeal tumor tissues and associated with decreased overall survival. Using laryngeal cancer cells lines HEp-2 and AMC-HN-8, it was demonstrated that knockdown of PCAT19 decreased the cell proliferation, increased the mitochondrial respiration, and inhibited the glycolysis. In detail, it showed that the PDK4 expression and PDHE1α phosphorylation levels were decreased upon the PCAT19 knockdown. Further studies indicated that miR-182 functioned as the bridge between PCAT19 and PDK4, which could also regulate the cellular metabolism thus affecting the cell proliferation. Furthermore, it was shown that the PCAT19/miR-182/PDK4 axis existed and regulated cell proliferation by modulating glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration. Finally, we showed that the PCAT19 knockdown decreased the tumor growth in vivo, possibly through regulating the miR-182/PDK4 axis. In conclusion, we demonstrated that lncRNA PCAT19 promoted cell proliferation and tumorigenesis by modulating the miR-182/PDK4 axis and the metabolism balance. PCAT19 might become a promising new target for laryngeal cancer therapeutics.     

HK2/hexokinase-II integrates glycolysis and autophagy to confer cellular protection

Hexokinases (HKs) catalyze the first step of glucose metabolism, phosphorylating glucose to glucose 6-phosphate (G6P). HK2/hexokinase-II is a predominant isoform in insulin-sensitive tissues such as heart, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissues and is also upregulated in many types of tumors associated with enhanced aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect). Accumulating evidence indicates that HK2 plays an important role not only in glycolysis but also in cell survival. Although there is increasing recognition that cellular metabolism and cell survival are closely related, the molecular link between metabolism and autophagic pathways has not been fully elucidated. We recently discovered that HK2 facilitates autophagy in response to glucose deprivation (HK substrate deprivation) to protect cardiomyocytes, and suggest that HK2 functions as a molecular switch from glycolysis to autophagy to ensure cellular energy homeostasis under starvation conditions.