NAN TANG^1,#, YAJING ZHAN^1,#, JIAYAN MAO^2,#, ANKANG YIN¹, WEI WANG^3,*, JUAN WANG^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.9, pp. 2009-2026, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029269

Abstract Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a malignant tumor with high incidence worldwide. Triptolide (TP), extracted from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, exhibits potent broad-spectrum antitumor activity. Although some mechanisms through which TP inhibits NSCLC are well understood, those that involve ribosomal proteins remain yet to be understood. In this study, the transcriptome and proteome were integrated and analyzed. Our data indicated ribosomal protein L4 (RPL4) to be a core hub protein in the protein-protein interaction network. RPL4 is overexpressed in NSCLC tissues and cells. Transfection with siRPL4 or TP treatment alone arrested the cell cycle in the G1 phase, induced… More > Graphic Abstract

DONGYE YANG^1,#,*, DONGDONG GUO^2,3,#, YUNMEI PENG², DONGMENG LIU¹, YANQIU FU¹, FEN SUN², LISHI ZHOU¹, JIAQI GUO¹, LAIQING HUANG^2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.9, pp. 2037-2049, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028863

Abstract Introduction: Sulfatase 2 (SULF2), an endogenous extracellular sulfatase, can remove 6-O-sulfate groups of glucosamine residues from heparan sulfate (HS) chains to modulate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which plays an important role in both liver carcinogenesis and embryogenesis. Side population (SP) cells are widely identified as stem-like cancer cells and are closely related to carcinoma metastasis, recurrence, and poor patient prognosis. However, the roles of SULF2 in SP cells of hepatomas are unclear, and the underlying mechanism is undefined. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the heterogeneity between SP cells and non-side population (NSP) cells derived from three different liver cancer… More > Graphic Abstract

EUN SOOK KIM¹, SANGHEE KIM², AREE MOON^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.6, pp. 867-875, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030411

Abstract Invasion and metastasis are important hallmarks of breast cancer and are the leading cause of patient mortality. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer characterized by a poor prognosis and a lack of effective targeted therapies. The present study investigated the inhibitory effect of a novel FTY720 derivative on the invasive phenotype of TNBC cells. Here, we showed that a novel compound with an isoxazole ring, 4-(3-Decylisoxazol-5-yl)-1-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)butan-2-aminium chloride (CM2-II-173), significantly inhibited invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells. Expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and invasiveness of MCF10A normal breast cells induced by sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) were reduced by CM2-II-173… More >

MAKOTO KAWATANI^1,2,*, HARUMI AONO², SAYOKO HIRANUMA³, TAKESHI SHIMIZU³, MAKOTO MUROI^1,2, TOSHIHIKO NOGAWA⁴, TOMOKAZU OHISHI⁵, SHUN-ICHI OHBA⁵, MANABU KAWADA⁵, KANAMI YAMAZAKI⁶, SHINGO DAN⁶, NAOSHI DOHMAE¹, HIROYUKI OSADA^2,7,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.6, pp. 833-844, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030241

Abstract Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a central enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway and is a promising drug target for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. This study presents the identification of a potent DHODH inhibitor by proteomic profiling. Cell-based screening revealed that NPD723, which is reduced to H-006 in cells, strongly induces myeloid differentiation and inhibits cell growth in HL-60 cells. H-006 also suppressed the growth of various cancer cells. Proteomic profiling of NPD723-treated cells in ChemProteoBase showed that NPD723 was clustered with DHODH inhibitors. H-006 potently inhibited human DHODH activity in vitro, whereas NPD723 was approximately… More >

LIJUN JIANG¹, WENMIN JI¹, YAJIE GONG², JIAJUN LI², JINCHUN LIU^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1803-1810, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029516

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies. Early diagnosis is the key to effective treatment of CRC. Since microRNAs (miRNAs) can be used as biomarkers of CRC, the objective of this work was to examine the effect of miR-520f-3p, which targets YAP1 (Yes-associated protein 1), on the ability of CRC cells to proliferate, invade, migrate, and undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods: A miR-520f-3p mimic was used to overexpress miR-520f-3p in HT29 cells. To establish the tumor-bearing mouse model, transfected HT29 cells were subcutaneously implanted into BALB/c-nu nude mice, and YAP1 and miR-520f-3p levels were determined using… More > Graphic Abstract

MARIA-LUISA VEISAGA^1,2, MARIAM AHUMADA², STACY SORIANO², LEONARDO ACUNA³, WEI ZHANG³, IVY LEUNG², ROBERT BARNUM², MANUEL A. BARBIERI^1,2,3,4,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1835-1852, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029076

Abstract Backgorund: Fruits and seed extracts of Annona montana have significant cytotoxic potential in several cancer cells. This study evaluates the effect of A. montana leaves hexane extract on several signaling cascades and gene expression in metastatic breast cancer cells upon insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) stimulation. Methods: MTT assay was performed to determine the proliferation of cancer cells. Propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry analysis of Annexin V binding was utilized to measure the progression of the cell cycle and the induction of apoptosis. Protein expression and phosphorylation were determined by western blotting analysis to examine the underlying cellular mechanism triggered… More >

JUNYU HE^1,2,3, FENG ZENG^1,2,3, XI JIN^1,2,3, LIN LIANG^1,2,3, MENGXIANG GAO^1,2,3, WENTAO LI^1,2,3, GUIYUAN LI^1,2,3, YANHONG ZHOU^1,2,3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.4, pp. 615-630, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.029698

Abstract Fos-related antigen 1 (Fra-1) is a nuclear transcription factor that regulates cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. It is involved in the proliferation, invasion, apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transformation of malignant tumor cells. Fra-1 is highly expressed in gastric cancer (GC), affects the cycle distribution and apoptosis of GC cells, and participates in GC occurrence and development. However, the detailed mechanism of Fra-1 in GC is unclear, such as the identification of Fra-1-interacting proteins and their role in GC pathogenesis. In this study, we identified tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein eta (YWHAH) as a Fra-1-interacting protein in GC cells using co-immunoprecipitation… More >

LI CHEN^1,2, FANGFANG LI², SHOUYAN CAO², XIA LI², CHAO ZHOU², SAI HAN^1,*, YOUZHONG ZHANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.7, pp. 1549-1560, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027308

Abstract Background: This study was designed to investigate the roles of RASAL2 in cervical cancer (CC). Methods: Fifty-four CC tissues and 33 adjacent tissues were obtained from CC patients admitted to our hospital between March 2012 and June 2014. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were performed to analyze the expression of RASAL2 mRNA and protein in these tissues, CC cell lines, and normal cervical cells. Over-expression and silencing of RASAL2 were induced after transfection, and the migration, invasion, and proliferation of the CC cell lines were examined. Results: RASAL2 mRNA and protein expressions were significantly down-regulated in CC tissues… More >

YAPING GAN^1,2,#, TING LIU^3,#, WEIFENG FENG^1,#, LIANG WANG⁴, LI LI⁵, YINGXIA NING^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 333-343, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028694

Abstract Various therapeutic strategies have been developed to overcome ovarian cancer. However, the prognoses resulting from these strategies are still unclear. In the present work, we screened 54 small molecule compounds approved by the FDA to identify novel agents that could inhibit the viability of human epithelial ovarian cancer cells. Among these, we identified disulfiram (DSF), an old alcohol-abuse drug, as a potential inducer of cell death in ovarian cancer. Mechanistically, DSF treatment significantly reduced the expression of the anti-apoptosis marker B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (Bcl-2) and increase the expression of the apoptotic molecules Bcl2 associated X (Bax) and cleaved caspase-3 to promote… More >

SHUIZHONG CEN^1,#, XIAOJIE PENG^2,#, JIANWEN DENG^3,#, HAIYUN JIN⁴, ZHINAN DENG⁵, XIAOHUA LIN³, DI ZHU³, MING JIN⁶, YANWEN ZHU³, PUSHENG ZHANG³, YUNFENG LUO³, HONGYAN HUANG^3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 375-388, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028256

Abstract Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by fast growth, high metastasis, high invasion, and a lack of therapeutic targets. Mitosis and metastasis of TNBC cells are two important biological behaviors in TNBC malignant progression. It is well known that the long noncoding RNA AFAP1-AS1 plays a crucial role in various tumors, but whether AFAP1-AS1 is involved in the mitosis of TNBC cells remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the functional mechanism of AFAP1-AS1 in targeting Polo-like Kinase 1 (PLK1) activation and participating in mitosis of TNBC cells. We detected the expression of AFAP1-AS1 in the TNBC patient cohort and… More > Graphic Abstract