Donghai Zhuang¹, Li Liang¹, Hongzhan Zhang, Xianguang Feng

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 399-408, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15864296270581

Abstract miRNAs play an important role in progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this work, we assessed the function of miR-202 in human HCC and identified BCL2 as its target. We found miR-202 expression was found significantly downregulated, while BCL2 expression was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines (HepG2, Hep3B, and HCCLM3). Both miR-202 and BCL2 were closely correlated with major vascular invasion and advanced TNM stage as well as overall survival of HCC patients. Overexpression of miR-202 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, and prevented tumor formation in a xenograft… More >

Ting La^*†, Lei Jin^*‡, Xiao Ying Liu^*, Ze Hua Song^*, Margaret Farrelly^†, Yu Chen Feng^†, Xu Guang Yan^†, Yuan Yuan Zhang^*,† Rick F. Thorne^*,*§ Xu Dong Zhang^*†, Liu Teng^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 385-398, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15861709922491

Abstract The deubiquitinase cylindromatosis (CYLD) functions as a tumor suppressor inhibiting cell proliferation in many cancer types including melanoma. Here we present evidence that a proportion of melanoma cells are nonetheless addicted to CYLD for survival. The expression levels of CYLD varied widely in melanoma cell lines and melanomas in vivo, with a subset of melanoma cell lines and melanomas displaying even higher levels of CYLD than melanocyte lines and nevi, respectively. Strikingly, although short hairpin RNA (shRNA) knockdown of CYLD promoted, as anticipated, cell proliferation in some melanoma cell lines, it reduced cell viability in a fraction of melanoma cell… More >

Ming Jia^*1, Yulin Xiong^†1, Maoshi Li^*, Qing Mao^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 371-383, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15853075736554

Abstract Chemotherapy is critical for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite the proapoptotic effects of corosolic acid (CA) treatment, its underlying mechanism is not completely clear. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular mechanism of CA in HCC treatment. MTT assay was used to determine the IC50 of CA. Immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence were used to detect the interaction and subcellular localization of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and mouse double minute 2 (MDM2). In addition, in vivo xenotransplantation was performed to assess the effects of CA, YAP, and MDM2 on tumorigenesis. The IC50 of CA was about 40 µM… More >

Yun Qin^*, Yu Wang^†‡§, Dongbo Liu^¶

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 357-369, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15844389264424

Abstract It has been reported that kindlin-3 expression is closely associated with progression of many cancers and microRNA (miRNA) processing. However, the effects and precise mechanisms of kindlin-3 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have not been well clarified. Our study aimed to explore the interaction between kindlin-3 and miR-4792 in AML. In our study, we found that the expression of kindlin-3 was dramatically increased in AML samples and cell lines, and the miR-4792 level was significantly downregulated. Interestingly, the low miR-4792 level was closely associated with upregulated kindlin-3 expression in AML samples. Moreover, introduction of miR-4792 dramatically suppressed proliferation and invasion… More >

Fengyun Hao^*1, Qingli Zhu^†, Lingwei Lu^†, Shukai Sun^‡, Yichuan Huang^§, Jinna Zhang^¶, Zhaohui Liu^†#, Yuanqing Miao^**, Xuelong Jiao^††, Dong Chen^††1

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 345-355, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15834065061807

Abstract Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is resistant to standard therapies and has no effective treatment. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A2 (EIF5A2) has shown to be upregulated in many malignant tumors and proposed to be a critical gene involved in tumor metastasis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression status of EIF5A2 in human ATC tissues and to study the role and mechanisms of EIF5A2 in ATC tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. Expression of EIF5A2 protein was analyzed in paraffin-embedded human ATC tissues and adjacent nontumorous tissues (ANCT) (n = 24) by immunochemistry. Expressions of EIF5A2 mRNA and protein… More >

Qiuyun Luo^*†1, Wentao Pan^*†‡1, Suna Zhou^*†1, Guangfeng Wang^‡, Hanjie Yi^*§, Lin Zhang^*¶, Xianglei Yan^*†, Luping Yuan^*†, Zhenyi Liu^#, Jing Wang^**, Haibo Chen^#, MiaoZhen Qiu^*††, DaJun Yang^*†‡, Jian Sun^*‡‡

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 331-344, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15825405463920

Abstract Despite therapeutic advances, the effective treatment for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains a major clinical challenge. Evasion of apoptosis through upregulating antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) family members and p53 inactivation, and abnormal activation of B-cell receptor signaling pathway are two important pathogenic factors for DLBCL. In this study, our aim is to explore a rational combination of BCL-2 inhibitor plus Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) blockade or p53 activation for treating DLBCL with the above characteristics. We demonstrated that a novel BCL-2 selective inhibitor APG-2575 effectively suppressed DLBCL with BCL-2 high expression via activating the mitochondrial apoptosis… More >

Kairui Liu^*, Xiaolin Wu^*, Xian Zang^†, Zejian Huang^*, Zeyu Lin^‡, Wenliang Tan^*, Xiang Wu^*, Wenrou Hu^*, Baoqi Li^*, Lei Zhang^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 559-560, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X16032056440102

Abstract Overexpression of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4) has been detected in many cancer types and is considered to foster tumor progression. However, the role of TRAF4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive. In this study, we found that TRAF4 was highly expressed in HCC cell lines and HCC tissues compared with normal liver cell lines and adjacent noncancerous tissues. TRAF4 overexpression in HCC tissues was correlated with tumor quantity and vascular invasion. In vitro studies showed that TRAF4 was associated with HCC cell migration and invasion. An in vivo study verified that TRAF4 overexpression facilitated metastasis in… More >

Fen Liu^*†, Shaojun Liu^*, Feiyan Ai^*†, Decai Zhang^*†, Zhiming Xiao^*, Xinmin Nie^‡, Yunfeng Fu^§

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 553-557, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X16032056440094

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world, with a high incidence and a high mortality. However, the pathogenesis of CRC carcinogenesis is still unexplored. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-107 in the regulation of CRC cell proliferation and apoptosis. First, the expression of miR-107 was observed to be aberrantly increased in human CRC tumor tissues and cell lines when compared to the colonic control tissues and colon epithelial cells. Further study showed that the proliferative and apoptotic capacities of human CRC SW480 and LoVo cells were aberrantly regulated by miR-107. The… More >

Jing Zeng^*1, Tianping Du^†1, Yafeng Song^‡, Yan Gao^‡, Fuyan Li^‡, Ruimin Wu^‡, Yijia Chen^‡, Wei Li^‡, Hong Zhou^‡, Yi Yang^‡, Zhijun Pei^‡

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 551-552, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X16032056440085

Abstract Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) colon cancer-associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) has been demonstrated to play an important role in diverse tumorigenesis. However, the biological function of lncRNAs in glioma is still unknown. In this study, we found that lncRNA CCAT2 was overexpressed in glioma tissues and cell lines and associated with tumor grade and size. Furthermore, patients with high levels of lncRNA CCAT2 had poorer survival than those with lower levels of lncRNA CCAT2. Knocking down lncRNA CCAT2 expression significantly suppressed the glioma cell growth, migration, and invasion, as well as induced early apoptosis of glioma cells in vitro. Moreover, lncRNA… More >

Kazuo Umezawa^*, Andrzej Breborowicz^†, Shamil Gantsev^‡

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 541-550, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15929100013698

Abstract There have been great advances in the therapy of cancer and leukemia. However, there are still many neoplastic diseases that are difficult to treat. For example, it is often difficult to find effective therapies for aggressive cancer and leukemia. An NF- B inhibitor named dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomicin (DHMEQ) was discovered in 2000. This compound was designed based on the structure of epoxyquinomicin isolated from a microorganism. It was shown to be a specific inhibitor that directly binds to and inactivates NF- B components. Until now, DHMEQ has been used by many scientists in the world to suppress animal models of cancer and… More >