The antitumor activity study of ginsenosides and metabolites in lung cancer cell.

Ginseng and its components exert various biological effects, including antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic, and antitumor activity. Ginsenosides are the main biological components of ginseng. Protopanaxadiol (PPD) and protopanaxatriol (PPT) are two metabolites of ginsenosides. However, the difference between these compounds in anti-lung cancer is unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the antitumor activity of PPD, PPT, Ginsenosides-Rg3 (G-Rg3) and Ginsenosides-Rh2 (G-Rh2) in lung cancer cell. After treatment with cisplatin, PPD, PPT, G-Rg3 or G-Rh2, the viability, apoptosis level and invasiveness of lung cell lines (A549 cell, a lung adenocarcinoma cell line and SK-MES-1 cell, a lung squamous cell line) in vitro were analyzed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8), Annexin V/PI apoptosis and Matrigel invasion assays, respectively. Here we found that all these compounds led to significant decreases of viability and invasiveness and an obvious increase of apoptosis of A549 and SK-MES-1 cells. Among these, the viability of SK-MES-1 cell treated with PPT was decreased to 66.8%, and this effect was closest to Cisplatin. G-Rg3 had the highest stimulatory effect on apoptosis, and PTT had the highest inhibitory effect on cell invasiveness in A549 and SK-MES-1 cells. These results indicate that both ginsenosides and two metabolites have antitumor activity on lung cancer cell in vitro. However, PPT is more powerful for inhibiting the viability and invasiveness of lung cancer cell, especially lung squamous cell. G-Rg3 has the best pro-apoptosis effects. This study provides a scientific basis for potential therapeutic strategies targeted to lung cancer by further structure modification.

IL15 promotes growth and invasion of endometrial stromal cells and inhibits killing activity of NK cells in endometriosis.

Endometriosis (EMS) is associated with an abnormal immune response to endometrial cells, which can facilitate the implantation and proliferation of ectopic endometrial tissues. It has been reported that human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) express interleukin (IL)15. The aim of our study was to elucidate whether or not IL15 regulates the cross talk between ESCs and natural killer (NK) cells in the endometriotic milieu and, if so, how this regulation occurs. The ESC behaviors in vitro were verified by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Annexin/PI, and Matrigel invasion assays, respectively. To imitate the local immune microenvironment, the co-culture system between ESCs and NK cells was constructed. The effect of IL15 on NK cells in the co-culture unit was investigated by flow cytometry (FCM). In this study, we found that ectopic endometrium from patients with EMS highly expressed IL15. Rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, decreased the level of IL15 receptors (i.e. IL15Rα and IL2Rß). IL15 inhibits apoptosis and promotes the invasiveness, viability, and proliferation of ESCs. Meanwhile, a co-culture with ESCs led to a decrease in CD16 on NK cells. In the co-culture system, IL15 treatment downregulated the levels of Granzyme B and IFN-γ in CD16(+)NK cells, NKG2D in CD56(dim)CD16(-)NK cells, and NKP44 in CD56(bright)CD16(-)NK cells. On the one hand, these results indicated that IL15 derived from ESCs directly stimulates the growth and invasion of ESCs. On the other hand, IL15 may help the immune escape of ESCs by suppressing the cytotoxic activity of NK cells in the ectopic milieu, thereby facilitating the progression of EMS.

Blocking IL-22, a potential treatment strategy for adenomyosis by inhibiting crosstalk between vascular endothelial and endometrial stromal cells.

Our previous work has demonstrated that interleukin-22 (IL-22) enhances the invasiveness of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) of adenomyosis in an autocrine manner. In the present study, we further investigated whether IL-22 mediated crosstalk between vascular endothelial cells (VECs) and ESCs in vitro. Here we found that VECs in ectopic lesion from women with adenomyosis highly expressed IL-22 receptors IL-22R1 and IL-10R2. Both recombinant human IL-22 (rhIL-22) and IL-22 from ESCs increased IL-22R1 and IL-10R2 expression on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Treatment with rhIL-22 led to an elevation of HUVECs viability, but did not influence HUVECs apoptosis. In contrast, anti-human IL-22 neutralizing antibody (α-IL-22) inhibited HUVECs viability induced by supernatants of ESCs. Stimulation with rhIL-22 or ESCs up-regulated CD105 expression on HUVECs and promoted angiogenesis, and α-IL-22 could reverse these effect induced by ESC. Compared to non-treated HUVECs, HUVECs educated by rh-IL-22 or ESCs could further up-regulate Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, and down-regulate Fas ligand (FasL) expression in ESCs. However, these effects induced by ESC-educated HUVECs were inhibited by α-IL-22. These results suggest that IL-22 derived from ESC promotes IL-22 receptors expression and enhances the viability, activation and angiogenesis of HUVEC. In turn, the educated HUVEC may further stimulate proliferation and restricts apoptosis of ESC. The integral effect may contribute to the progress of adenomyosis. Blocking IL-22 can disturb crosstalk between ESC and VEC mediated by IL-22, suggesting that blocking IL-22 may be a potential treatment strategy for adenomyosis.

Chemokine CCL17 induced by hypoxia promotes the proliferation of cervical cancer cell.

Cervical cancer is often associated with hypoxia and many kinds of chemokines. But the relationship and role of hypoxia and Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 17 (CCL17) in cervical cancer are still unknown. Here, we found that CCL17 was high expressed in cervical cancer. HeLa and SiHa cells could secrete CCL17 in a time-dependent manner. Hypoxia increased expression of CCL17 receptor (CCR4) on HeLa and SiHa cells. Treatment with recombination human CCL17 (rhCCL17) led to an elevation of cell proliferation in HeLa and SiHa cells in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, blocking CCL17 with anti-human CCL17 neutralizing antibody (α-CCL17) played an oppose effect. However, rhCCL17 had no effect on apoptosis in cervical cancer cells. Further analysis showed that hypoxia promoted the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells, and these effects could be reversed by α-CCL17. Stimulation with the inhibitor for c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) or signal transducers and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) signal pathway not only directly decreased the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells, but also abrogated the stimulatory effect of rhCCL17 on the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells. These results suggest that a high level of CCL17 in cervical cancer lesions is an important regulator in the proliferation of cervical cancer cells through JNK and STAT5 signaling pathways. In this process, hypoxia magnifies this effect by up-regulating CCR4 expression and strengthening the interaction of CCL17/CCR4.

RANKL/RANK interaction promotes the growth of cervical cancer cells by strengthening the dialogue between cervical cancer cells and regulation of IL-8 secretion.

Receptor activator for nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family. The interaction between RANKL and its receptor RANK plays an important role in the development and function of diverse tissues. However, the expression and role of RANKL in cervical cancer are still unknown. In the present study, we found that RANKL and RANK were highly co-expressed in cervical cancer. HeLa and SiHa cells secreted soluble RANKL (sRANKL), expressed member RANKL (mRANKL) and RANK. Recombinant human RANKL protein had no effect on the viability of HeLa and SiHa cells. Yet, blocking RANKL with an anti-human RANKL neutralizing antibody (α-RANKL) or recombinant human osteoprotegrin (OPG) protein resulted in the downregulation of Ki-67 and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression and an increase in Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) expression, as well as a high level of viability and a low level of apoptosis in the HeLa and SiHa cells. In addition, α-RANKL led to a decrease in IL-8 secretion. Recombinant human IL-8 protein reversed the effect of α-RANKL on the expression of proliferation- and apoptosis­related molecules, and proliferation and apoptosis in the HeLa and SiHa cells. The present study suggests that a high level of mRANKL/RANK expression in cervical cancer lesions plays an important role in the rapid growth of cervical cancer cells possibly through strengthening the dialogue between cervical cancer cells and regulation of IL-8 secretion, which may be a possible target for cervical cancer therapy.

Chemokine CCL24 promotes the growth and invasiveness of trophoblasts through ERK1/2 and PI3K signaling pathways in human early pregnancy.

Chemokine CCL24, acting through receptor CCR3, is a potent chemoattractant for eosinophil in allergic diseases and parasitic infections. We recently reported that CCL24 and CCR3 are co-expressed by trophoblasts in human early pregnant uterus. Here we prove with evidence that steroid hormones estradiol (E), progesterone (P), and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), as well as decidual stromal cells (DSCs) could regulate the expression of CCL24 and CCR3 of trophoblasts. We further investigate how trophoblast-derived CCL24 mediates the function of trophoblasts in vitro, and conclude that CCL24/CCR3 promotes the proliferation, viability and invasiveness of trophoblasts. In addition, analysis of the downstream signaling pathways of CCL24/CCR3 show that extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways may contribute to the proliferation, viability and invasiveness of trophoblasts by activating intracellular molecules Ki67 and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9). However, we did not observe any inhibitory effect on trophoblasts when blocking c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) or p38 pathways. In conclusion, our data suggests that trophoblast-derived CCL24 at the maternal-fetal interface promotes trophoblasts cell growth and invasiveness by ERK1/2 and PI3K pathways. Meanwhile, pregnancy-related hormones (P and hCG), as well as DSCs could up-regulate CCL24/CCR3 expression in trophoblasts, which may indirectly influence the biological functions of trophoblasts. Thus, our results provide a possible explanation for the growth and invasion of trophoblasts in human embryo implantation.

The infiltration and functional regulation of eosinophils induced by TSLP promote the proliferation of cervical cancer cell.

Cervical cancer is often associated with eosinophil (EOS) infiltration, but the source and the role of EOS are still largely unknown. Our previous work has established that thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) can stimulate the growth of cervical cancer cell in an autocrine manner. Here, we report that EOS infiltration of the lesion site increased gradually with the progression of cervical cancer. The increase in TSLP secretion in HeLa and SiHa cells induced by hypoxia led to a high level of chemokine CCL17 production by HeLa and SiHa cells, and recruited more EOS to the cancer lesion. In addition, TSLP derived from HeLa and SiHa cells promoted proliferation, up-regulated the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13), and decreased the expression of CD80 and CD86 of EOS. Such educated EOS significantly promoted proliferation and restricted the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells, which was associated with the up-regulation of Ki-67, PCNA and Bcl-2, and the down-regulation of Fas and FasL in HeLa and SiHa cells. These results suggest that a high level of TSLP in cancer lesions mediated by hypoxia is an important regulator of the progression of cervical cancer by recruiting and licensing tumor-associated EOS to promote the growth of the cervical cancer cell itself. This provides a scientific basis on which potential therapeutic strategies could be targeted to cervical cancer, especially for patients with massive infiltrations of EOS.