ANKRD49 promotes the invasion and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma via a P38/ATF-2 signalling pathway.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most challenging neoplasm to treat in clinical practice. Ankyrin repeat domain 49 protein (ANKRD49) is highly expressed in several carcinomas; however, its pattern of expression and role in LUAD are not known. Tissue microarrays, immunohistochemistry, χ2 test, Spearman correlation analysis, Kaplan-Meier, log-rank test, and Cox's proportional hazard model were used to analyse the clinical cases. The effect of ANKRD49 on the LUAD was investigated using CCK-8, clonal formation, would healing, transwell assays, and nude mice experiment. Expressions of ANKRD49 and its associated downstream protein molecules were verified by real-time PCR, Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and/or immunofluorescence analyses. ANKRD49 expression was highly elevated in LUAD. The survival rate and Cox's modelling analysis indicated that there may be an independent prognostic indicator for LUAD patients. We also found that ANKRD49 promoted the invasion and migration in both in in vitro and in vivo assays, through upregulating matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 activities via the P38/ATF-2 signalling pathway Our findings suggest that ANKRD49 is a latent biomarker for evaluating LUAD prognosis and promotes the metastasis of A549 cells via upregulation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in a P38/ATF-2 pathway-dependent manner.

Effects of arsenic disulfide on apoptosis, histone acetylation, toll like receptor 2 activation, and erythropoiesis in bone marrow mononuclear cells of myelodysplastic syndromes patients in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: As the main component of traditional Chinese medicine realgar, arsenic disulfide (As2S2) is widely used in treating myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The goal of the current study is to assess the effects of As2S2 on bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC) of MDS. METHODS: BMMNCs were obtained from 10 lower risk MDS patients, 5 higher risk MDS patients, and 3 healthy controls. Then, the cells were treated with As2S2 for 48h, using vorinostat (also known as SAHA) as control. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected. mRNA and protein levels of histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC1), Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and erythroid transcription factor (GATA-1) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analysis. RESULTS: After As2S2 treatment in concentrations ranging from 3.125 to 100µmol/L, cell proliferation was inhibited in both lower risk and higher risk MDS. Fifty percent inhibitory concentrations were 24.4µmol/L and 23.6µmol/L, respectively, for lower and higher risk MDS. Apoptotic cells significantly increased in both types of MDS. mRNA and protein levels of HDAC1 and TLR2 were reduced, whereas GATA-1 was increased in both types of MDS. CONCLUSIONS: As2S2 could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis through histone acetylation modulation in MDS. Similar to SAHA, As2S2 could reduce TLR2 activation and increase GATA-1 expression. Current data suggest epigenetic and immunological alternations are involved in therapeutic mechanisms of realgar in the treatment of MDS.