Identification of RFC4 as a potential biomarker for pan-cancer involving prognosis, tumour immune microenvironment and drugs.

RFC4 is required for DNA polymerase δ and DNA polymerase ε to initiate DNA template expansion. Downregulated RFC4 inhibits tumour proliferation by causing S-phase arrest and inhibiting mitosis, resulting in the reduction of tumour cells. RFC4 has been implicated that it plays an important role in the initiation and progression of cancers, but a comprehensive analysis of the role of RFC4 in cancer has not been performed. We comprehensively analysed the expression, prognosis, methylation level, splicing level, relationship of RFC4 and immune infiltration, and pan-cancer immunotherapy response used various databases (including TCGA, GTEx, UALCAN, Oncosplicing, TIDE, TISCH, HPA and CAMOIP), and experimented its biological function in HCC. Through pan-cancer analysis, we found that RFC4 is significantly upregulated in most tumours. The tumour patients with high expression of RFC4 have poor prognosis. The methylation level and variable splicing level of RFC4 were abnormal in most tumours compared with the adjacent tissues. Furthermore, RFC4 was closely associated with immune cell infiltration in various cancers. RFC4 was significantly co-expressed with immune checkpoints and other immune-related genes. The expression of RFC4 could indicate the immunotherapy efficacy of some tumours. The RFC4 expression was associated with sensitivity to specific small molecule drugs. Cell experiments have shown that downregulated RFC4 can inhibit cell cycle and tumour cell proliferation. We conducted a systematic pan-cancer analysis of RFC4, and the results showed that RFC4 can serve as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. These findings open new perspectives for precision medicine.

Thymic microenvironment's impact on immunosenescence.

Age-related thymic involution is characterized by the loss of T cell development and the supporting epithelial network, which are replaced by adipose tissue. We previously showed that aging functionally impairs lymphohematopoietic progenitor cells, including thymic early T cell progenitors (ETPs), contributing to thymic involution. Considering that the thymic microenvironment is essential for thymocyte incubation, we aimed to investigate its role in age-related thymic involution and the mechanisms underlying these changes. The challenge in studying these processes led us to transplant T cell-depleted fetal thymus tissue into the kidney capsule of aged mice. This model allowed us to identify the mechanisms driving age-related changes in the thymic microenvironment and to assess whether these changes could be reversed. Flow cytometry was used to detect naïve T cells (CD62L+CD44-), including CD4 CD8 double-negative, double-positive, and single-positive T cells. Real-time PCR was used to detect and quantify signal-joint T cell receptor excision circles. We rearranged δRec-ΨJα in murine peripheral blood leukocytes to evaluate the thymic output of newly developed naïve T cells in the mice and gene expression in the thymus. Age-related thymic involution decreased naïve T cells and increased memory T cells, while fetal thymus transplantation improved thymic output and T cell production and reversed the impairment of thymopoiesis due to thymic involution in aged mice. Furthermore, the expression of key cytokines was restored and ETPs in the aged mice showed normal thymic T cell development. Our study suggests that degenerative changes in the thymic microenvironment are the primary cause of thymic dysfunction, leading to immunosenescence associated with age-related thymic involution.

The Role of Oxidative Stress in Tumorigenesis and Progression.

Oxidative stress refers to the imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the endogenous antioxidant defense system. Its involvement in cell senescence, apoptosis, and series diseases has been demonstrated. Advances in carcinogenic research have revealed oxidative stress as a pivotal pathophysiological pathway in tumorigenesis and to be involved in lung cancer, glioma, hepatocellular carcinoma, leukemia, and so on. This review combs the effects of oxidative stress on tumorigenesis on each phase and cell fate determination, and three features are discussed. Oxidative stress takes part in the processes ranging from tumorigenesis to tumor death via series pathways and processes like mitochondrial stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and ferroptosis. It can affect cell fate by engaging in the complex relationships between senescence, death, and cancer. The influence of oxidative stress on tumorigenesis and progression is a multi-stage interlaced process that includes two aspects of promotion and inhibition, with mitochondria as the core of regulation. A deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the effects of oxidative stress on tumorigenesis is conducive to exploring more tumor therapies.

Identification of specific prognostic markers for lung squamous cell carcinoma based on tumor progression, immune infiltration, and stem index.

Introduction: Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is a unique subform of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The lack of specific driver genes as therapeutic targets leads to worse prognoses in patients with LUSC, even with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immune checkpoint inhibitors. Furthermore, research on the LUSC-specific prognosis genes is lacking. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive LUSC-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) signature for prognosis correlated with tumor progression, immune infiltration,and stem index. Methods: RNA sequencing data for LUSC and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data portal, and DEGs analyses were conducted in TCGA-LUSC and TCGA-LUAD cohorts to identify specific DEGs associated with LUSC. Functional analysis and protein-protein interaction network were performed to annotate the roles of LUSC-specific DEGs and select the top 100 LUSC-specific DEGs. Univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analyses were performed to select prognosis-related DEGs. Results: Overall, 1,604 LUSC-specific DEGs were obtained, and a validated seven-gene signature was constructed comprising FGG, C3, FGA, JUN, CST3, CPSF4, and HIST1H2BH. FGG, C3, FGA, JUN, and CST3 were correlated with poor LUSC prognosis, whereas CPSF4 and HIST1H2BH were potential positive prognosis markers in patients with LUSC. Receiver operating characteristic analysis further confirmed that the genetic profile could accurately estimate the overall survival of LUSC patients. Analysis of immune infiltration demonstrated that the high risk (HR) LUSC patients exhibited accelerated tumor infiltration, relative to low risk (LR) LUSC patients. Molecular expressions of immune checkpoint genes differed significantly between the HR and LR cohorts. A ceRNA network containing 19 lncRNAs, 50 miRNAs, and 7 prognostic DEGs was constructed to demonstrate the prognostic value of novel biomarkers of LUSC-specific DEGs based on tumor progression, stemindex, and immune infiltration. In vitro experimental models confirmed that LUSC-specific DEG FGG expression was significantly higher in tumor cells and correlated with immune tumor progression, immune infiltration, and stem index. In vitro experimental models confirmed that LUSC-specific DEG FGG expression was significantly higher in tumor cells and correlated with immune tumor progression, immune infiltration, and stem index. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the potential clinical implication of the 7- DEGs signature for prognosis prediction of LUSC patients based on tumor progression, immune infiltration, and stem index. And the FGG could be an independent prognostic biomarker of LUSC promoting cell proliferation, migration, invasion, THP-1 cell infiltration, and stem cell maintenance.

UTX inactivation in germinal center B cells promotes the development of multiple myeloma with extramedullary disease.

UTX/KDM6A, a histone H3K27 demethylase and a key component of the COMPASS complex, is frequently lost or mutated in cancer; however, its tumor suppressor function remains largely uncharacterized in multiple myeloma (MM). Here, we show that the conditional deletion of the X-linked Utx in germinal center (GC) derived cells collaborates with the activating BrafV600E mutation and promotes induction of lethal GC/post-GC B cell malignancies with MM-like plasma cell neoplasms being the most frequent. Mice that developed MM-like neoplasms showed expansion of clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and extramedullary organs, serum M proteins, and anemia. Add-back of either wild-type UTX or a series of mutants revealed that cIDR domain, that forms phase-separated liquid condensates, is largely responsible for the catalytic activity-independent tumor suppressor function of UTX in MM cells. Utx loss in concert with BrafV600E only slightly induced MM-like profiles of transcriptome, chromatin accessibility, and H3K27 acetylation, however, it allowed plasma cells to gradually undergo full transformation through activation of transcriptional networks specific to MM that induce high levels of Myc expression. Our results reveal a tumor suppressor function of UTX in MM and implicate its insufficiency in the transcriptional reprogramming of plasma cells in the pathogenesis of MM.

S100A6 Activates Kupffer Cells via the p-P38 and p-JNK Pathways to Induce Inflammation, Mononuclear/macrophage Infiltration Sterile Liver Injury in Mice.

Noninfectious liver injury, including the effects of chemical material, drugs and diet, is a major cause of liver diseases worldwide. In chemical and drugs-induced liver injury, innate inflammatory responses are mediated by extracellular danger signals. The S100 protein can act as danger signals, which can promote the migration and chemotaxis of immune cells, promote the release of various inflammatory cytokines, and regulate the body's inflammatory and immune responses. However, the role of S100A6 in inflammatory response in chemical and drugs-induced sterile liver injury remains unclear. We constructed the model of sterile liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)/Paracetamol (APAP) and performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) on the liver tissues after injury (days 2 and 5). We analyzed inflammatory protein secretion in the liver tissue supernatant by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), determined the inflammation response by bioinformatic analysis during sterile liver injury, and assessed mononuclear/macrophage infiltration by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the location of S100A6. We conducted inflammatory factor expression analysis and molecular mechanistic studies in Kupffer cells (KCs) induced by S100A6 using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), ELISA, and western blot in vitro experiments. We performed chemokine CCL2 expression analysis and molecular mechanism studies using the same method. We used a Transwell assay to show the infiltration of mononuclear/macrophage. We here observed that aggravated inflammatory response was shown in CCl4 and APAP-administrated mice, as evidenced by enhanced production of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß), and elevated mononuclear/macrophage infiltration and activation of immunity. The expression of S100A6 was significantly increased on day 2 after sterile liver injury, which is primarily produced by injured liver cells. Mechanistic studies established that S100A6 activates Kupffer cells (KCs) via the p-P38, p-JNK and P65 pathways to induce inflammation in vitro. Furthermore, TNF-α can stimulate liver cells via the p-P38 and p-JNK pathways to produce CCL2 and promote the infiltration of mononuclear/macrophage. In summary, we showed that S100A6 plays an important role in regulating inflammation, thus influencing sterile liver injury. Our findings provide novel evidence that S100A6 can as a danger signal that contributes to pro-inflammatory activation through p-P38 and p-JNK pathways in CCl4 and APAP-induced sterile liver injury in mice. In addition, the inflammatory factor TNF-α induces a large amount of CCL2 production in normal liver cells surrounding the injured area through a paracrine action, which is chemotactic for blood mononuclear/macrophage infiltration.

Comprehensive Analysis of FASN in Tumor Immune Infiltration and Prognostic Value for Immunotherapy and Promoter DNA Methylation.

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) promotes tumor progression in multiple cancers. In this study, we comprehensively examined the expression, prognostic significance, and promoter methylation of FASN, and its correlation with immune cell infiltration in pan-cancer. Our results demonstrated that elevated FASN expression was significantly associated with an unfavorable prognosis in many cancer types. Furthermore, FASN promoter DNA methylation can be used as a tumor prognosis marker. Importantly, high levels of FASN were significantly negatively correlated with tumor immune infiltration in 35 different cancers. Additionally, FASN was significantly associated with tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI) in multiple malignancies, suggesting that it may be essential for tumor immunity. We also investigated the effects of FASN expression on immunotherapy efficacy and prognosis. In up to 15 tumors, it was significantly negatively correlated with immunotherapy-related genes, such as PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4. Moreover, we found that tumors with high FASN expression may be more sensitive to immunotherapy and have a good prognosis with PD-L1 treatment. Finally, we confirmed the tumor-suppressive effect of mir-195-5p through FASN. Altogether, our results suggested that FASN may serve as a novel prognostic indicator and immunotherapeutic target in various malignancies.

Upregulated miR-322-5p regulates cell cycle and promotes cell proliferation and apoptosis by directly targeting Wee1 in mice liver injury.

Liver injury from any number of causes (e.g. chemical material, drugs and diet, viral infection) is a global health problem, and its mechanism is not clearly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) expression profiling is gaining popularity because miRNAs, as key regulators in gene expression networks, can influence many biological processes and have also shown promise as biomarkers for disease. Previous studies reported the regulation effects of miRNAs in liver injury, whereas function and molecular mechanisms of miR-322-5p were still unclear. Therefore, our study focused on the biological role of miR-322-5p in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle. A mouse model of CCl4-induced liver injury was established, and the transcriptomes and miRNAs transcriptomes of 2d and 5d liver tissues after injury were sequenced. The expression of miR-322-5p and the cell cycle genes were detected in liver tissues and Hepa1-6 cell line by miRNA RT-PCR, qRT-PCR. The effects of miR-322-5p on liver cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis were evaluated using MTS assays and flow cytometry analysis. The relationship between miR-322-5p and Wee1 was predicted and confirmed by bioinformatics analysis and a dual luciferase reporter assay. Functional experiments, including an MTS assay and flow cytometric analysis, were performed to study the effects of Wee1. MiR-322-5p was upregulated in injury liver tissues, and downregulated miR-322-5p was proved to inhibit proliferation, apoptosis and arrest cell cycle at G2/M in vitro. The dual-luciferase reporter assay results indicated that miR-322-5p has a binding site at position 285 in the Wee1 3´UTR. The effects of miR-322-5p in proliferation and cell cycle regulation can be abolished by Wee1 through rescue experiments. By directly targeting Wee1 influenced the expression of several cell cycle factors, including Cyclin dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1), cyclin B1 (Ccnb1) and Cell division cyclin 25C (Cdc25C). MiR-322-5p may function as a suppressive factor by negatively controlling Wee1, thus, highlighting the potential role of miR-322-5p as a therapeutic target for liver injury.Abbreviations: ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; GSH: Glutathione, γ-glutamyl cysteinel + glycine; CCl4: Carbon tetrachloride; HE: Haematoxylin and eosin; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.

The Traditional Mongolian Medicine Qiqirigan-8 Effects on Lipid Metabolism and Inflammation in Obesity: Pharmacodynamic Evaluation and Relevant Metabolites.

Objective: Traditional Mongolian Medicine Qiqirigan-8 (MMQ-8) is a Chinese botanical drug with effective pharmacological properties in obesity. However, the pharmacological mechanism of MMQ-8 remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the active metabolites of MMQ-8 and its therapeutic effects on lipid metabolism and inflammation. Methods: The active metabolites of MMQ-8 were identified by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatograph Q extractive mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QE-MS) assay and network analysis. An obesity rat model induced by high-fat diet was used in the study. Serum levels of lipids and inflammatory factors were detected using biochemical analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pathological analysis of liver tissues and arteries was conducted with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemistry. Protein expression of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway was investigated by Western-blot. Simultaneously, bone marrow cells were used for RNA sequencing and relevant results were validated by cell culture and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: We identified 69 active metabolites and 551 target genes of MMQ-8. Of these, there are 65 active metabolites and 225 target genes closely related to obesity and inflammation. In vivo, we observed that MMQ-8 had general decreasing effects on body weight, white adipose tissue weight, and serum lipids. MMQ-8 treatment notably decreased the liver function markers and hepatic steatosis, and significantly decreased inflammation. In serum, it notably decreased TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS), while elevating IL-10 levels. MMQ-8 treatment also significantly inhibited proteins phosphorylation of nuclear factor-kappa B inhibitor alpha (IκBα), mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38), extracellular regulated kinase 1/2(ERK1/2), and stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK), and decreased vascular endothelium damage and macrophage infiltration and polarization to M1. These findings coincide with the RNA-sequencing data of bone marrow cells and results of in vitro experiments. Conclusion: We determined the pharmacological actions and relevant metabolites of MMQ-8 in obesity for the first time. Our study revealed MMQ-8 can optimize lipid metabolism and reduce chronic inflammation in obesity. However, more in-depth research is needed, for example, to understand the principle of compound compatibility and the inhibition effects on hepatic steatosis, T cell differentiation, and inflammatory signal transduction.

The role of epigenetic modifications in Colorectal Cancer Metastasis.

Distant metastasis is the major contributor to the high mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC). To overcome the poor prognosis caused by distant metastasis, the mechanisms of CRC metastasis should be further explored. Epigenetic events are the main mediators of gene regulation and further affect tumor progression. Recent studies have found that some epigenetic enzymes are often dysregulated or mutated in multiple tumor types, which prompted us to study the roles of these enzymes in CRC metastasis. In this review, we summarized the alteration of enzymes related to various modifications, including histone modification, nonhistone modification, DNA methylation, and RNA methylation, and their epigenetic mechanisms during the progression of CRC metastasis. Existing data suggest that targeting epigenetic enzymes is a promising strategy for the treatment of CRC metastasis.

Traditional Mongolian medicine (HHQG) attenuates CCl4-induced acute liver injury through inhibiting monocyte/macrophage infiltration via the p-P38/p-JNK pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Honghua Qinggan 13 Flavor Pills (HHQG), whose Mongolian name is Guri Gumu-13, is a traditional Mongolian medicine, that was stated in the "Diagnosis and Treatment of Ming Medical Code". The HHQG has been included in the Mongolian Medicine Division of the Ministry of Health Drug Standards (1998 edition). Based on our clinical expertise, HHQG demonstrated satisfactory therapeutic effects in hepatitis and liver failure. However, the pharmacological effects and potential mechanisms of HHQG have not been investigated. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, we combined network pharmacology, transcriptomics, and molecular biology to detect the underlying mechanism for the effect of HHQG on acute liver injury in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Network pharmacology was used to explore the pathways involved in the protective effect HHQG in acute liver injury. This effect was further verified by injecting carbon tetrachloride (CCl4; 10 mL/kg, i.p.) to induce acute liver injury in mice. Serum markers of liver injury, morphology, histology, and monocyte/macrophage infiltration in the liver tissue were investigated. Transcriptomics further defined the HHQG targets. Transwell analysis was performed to confirm that HHQG inhibited monocyte/macrophage RAW.264.7 infiltration. qPCR and Western blot were performed to explore the mechanism of action of HHQG. RESULTS: Network pharmacology showed that HHQG exerted anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects and promoted metabolic effects against acute liver injury. Pretreatment of mice with HHQG significantly maintained their body weight and decreased serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels induced by CCl4 treatment in vivo. Histopathological examination further confirmed that HHQG protected the liver cells from CCl4-induced damage. Importantly, HHQG significantly inhibited CCl4-induced monocyte/macrophage infiltration. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that HHQG significantly reduced the expression of chemokines and cell adhesion molecules. We determined that HHQG significantly downregulated the expression of the key chemokine (monocyte chemokine protein-1, CCL2) at the gene and protein levels. Further research showed that HHQG inhibited chemokine production in hepatocytes by inhibiting the p-P38 and p-JNK pathways, thereby reducing monocyte/macrophage infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: These combined data showed that HHQG alleviated acute liver injury in mice, and further verified that HHQG exerted protective effects by inhibiting the production of CCL2 and reducing the infiltration of monocyte/macrophage by inhibiting the p-P38 and p-JNK pathways.

Activin A and BMP4 Signaling Expands Potency of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells in Serum-Free Media.

Inhibitors of Mek1/2 and Gsk3ß, known as 2i, and, together with leukemia inhibitory factor, enhance the derivation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and promote ground-state pluripotency (2i/L-ESCs). However, recent reports show that prolonged Mek1/2 suppression impairs developmental potential of ESCs, and is rescued by serum (S/L-ESCs). Here, we show that culturing ESCs in Activin A and BMP4, and in the absence of MEK1/2 inhibitor (ABC/L medium), establishes advanced stem cells derived from ESCs (esASCs). We demonstrate that esASCs contributed to germline lineages, full-term chimeras and generated esASC-derived mice by tetraploid complementation. We show that, in contrast to 2i/L-ESCs, esASCs display distinct molecular signatures and a stable hypermethylated epigenome, which is reversible and similar to serum-cultured ESCs. Importantly, we also derived novel ASCs (blASCs) from blastocysts in ABC/L medium. Our results provide insights into the derivation of novel ESCs with DNA hypermethylation from blastocysts in chemically defined medium.

Liposomes Encapsulating Neoantigens and Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots for Enhancing Photothermal Immunotherapy.

Colorectal cancer frustrates with high relapse after the traditional treatment including surgery and chemotherapy. Neoantigen-based therapeutic vaccine has achieved high response rate in the clinical trials rising the immunotherapy as a promising alternative for colorectal cancer. Herein, colon cancer cells derived neoantigen peptide Adpgk were employed to be co-encapsulated with black phosphorus quantum dots into liposome (Adpgk-BPQDs-liposome) as therapeutic vaccine. Adpgk-BPQDs-liposome were dispersed in F127 gel containing GM-CSF. The heat generated by black phosphorus (BP) under 808 nm near-infrared laser irradiation accelerates the F127 gel ablation and the release of GM-CSF, which recruit APC cells and prime the native T cells. The tumor bearing mice received the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) checkpoint blockade antibody combined with photo-thermal gel intensively prevented the tumor progress. Furthermore, the tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells were significantly increased which lead to the elimination of the tumor.

Ezh2 loss propagates hypermethylation at T cell differentiation-regulating genes to promote leukemic transformation.

Early T cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ETP-ALL) is a new pathological entity with poor outcomes in T cell ALL (T-ALL) that is characterized by a high incidence of loss-of-function mutations in polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) genes. We generated a mouse model of ETP-ALL by deleting Ezh2, one of the PRC2 genes, in p53-null hematopoietic cells. The loss of Ezh2 in p53-null hematopoietic cells impeded the differentiation of ETPs and eventually induced ETP-ALL-like disease in mice, indicating that PRC2 functions as a bona fide tumor suppressor in ETPs. A large portion of PRC2 target genes acquired DNA hypermethylation of their promoters following reductions in H3K27me3 levels upon the loss of Ezh2, which included pivotal T cell differentiation-regulating genes. The reactivation of a set of regulators by a DNA-demethylating agent, but not the transduction of single regulator genes, effectively induced the differentiation of ETP-ALL cells. Thus, PRC2 protects key T cell developmental regulators from DNA hypermethylation in order to keep them primed for activation upon subsequent differentiation phases, while its insufficiency predisposes ETPs to leukemic transformation. These results revealed a previously unrecognized epigenetic switch in response to PRC2 dysfunction and provide the basis for specific rational epigenetic therapy for ETP-ALL with PRC2 insufficiency.

Triptonide inhibits the pathological functions of gastric cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Direct attacks on tumour cells with chemotherapeutic drugs have the drawbacks of accelerating tumour metastasis and inducing tumour stem cell phenotypes. Inhibition of tumour-associated fibroblasts, which provide nourishment and support to tumour cells, is a novel and promising anti-tumour strategy. However, effective drugs against tumour-associated fibroblasts are currently lacking. In the present study, we explored the possibility of inhibiting the pathological functions of tumour-associated fibroblasts with triptonide. Paired gastric normal fibroblasts (GNFs) and gastric cancer-associated fibroblasts (GCAFs) were obtained from resected tissues. GCAFs showed higher capacities to induce colony formation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells than GNFs. Triptonide treatment strongly inhibited the colony formation-, migration-, and invasion-promoting capacities of GCAFs. The expression of microRNA-301a was higher and that of microRNA-149 was lower in GCAFs than in GNFs. Triptonide treatment significantly down-regulated microRNA-301a expression and up-regulated microRNA-149 expression in GCAFs. Re-establishment of microRNA expression balance increased the production and secretion of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2, a tumour suppressive factor, and suppressed the production and secretion of IL-6, an oncogenic factor, in GCAFs. Moreover, triptonide treatment abolished the ability of GCAFs to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer cells. These results indicate that triptonide inhibits the malignancy-promoting capacity of GCAFs by correcting abnormalities in microRNA expression. Thus, triptonide is a promisingly therapeutic agent for gastric cancer treatment, and traditional herbs may be a valuable source for developing new drugs that can regulate the tumour microenvironment.

Recurrent SPI1 (PU.1) fusions in high-risk pediatric T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The outcome of treatment-refractory and/or relapsed pediatric T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is extremely poor, and the genetic basis for this is not well understood. Here we report comprehensive profiling of 121 cases of pediatric T-ALL using transcriptome and/or targeted capture sequencing, through which we identified new recurrent gene fusions involving SPI1 (STMN1-SPI1 and TCF7-SPI1). Cases positive for fusions involving SPI1 (encoding PU.1), accounting for 3.9% (7/181) of the examined pediatric T-ALL cases, showed a double-negative (DN; CD4-CD8-) or CD8+ single-positive (SP) phenotype and had uniformly poor overall survival. These cases represent a subset of pediatric T-ALL distinguishable from the known T-ALL subsets in terms of expression of genes involved in T cell precommitment, establishment of T cell identity, and post-ß-selection maturation and with respect to mutational profile. PU.1 fusion proteins retained transcriptional activity and, when constitutively expressed in mouse stem/progenitor cells, induced cell proliferation and resulted in a maturation block. Our findings highlight a unique role of SPI1 fusions in high-risk pediatric T-ALL.

Dual Inhibition of EZH2 and EZH1 Sensitizes PRC2-Dependent Tumors to Proteasome Inhibition.

Purpose: EZH2 and EZH1, the catalytic components of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), trigger trimethylation of H3K27 (H3K27me3) to repress the transcription of target genes and are implicated in the pathogenesis of various cancers including multiple myeloma and prostate cancer. Here, we investigated the preclinical effects of UNC1999, a dual inhibitor of EZH2 and EZH1, in combination with proteasome inhibitors on multiple myeloma and prostate cancer.Experimental Design:In vitro and in vivo efficacy of UNC1999 and the combination with proteasome inhibitors was evaluated in multiple myeloma cell lines, primary patient cells, and in a xenograft model. RNA-seq and ChIP-seq were performed to uncover the targets of UNC1999 in multiple myeloma. The efficacy of the combination therapy was validated in prostate cancer cell lines.Results: Proteasome inhibitors repressed EZH2 transcription via abrogation of the RB-E2F pathway, thereby sensitizing EZH2-dependent multiple myeloma cells to EZH1 inhibition by UNC1999. Correspondingly, combination of proteasome inhibitors with UNC1999, but not with an EZH2-specific inhibitor, induced synergistic antimyeloma activity in vitro Bortezomib combined with UNC1999 remarkably inhibited the growth of myeloma cells in vivo Comprehensive analyses revealed several direct targets of UNC1999 including the tumor suppressor gene NR4A1 Derepression of NR4A1 by UNC1999 resulted in suppression of MYC, which was enhanced by the combination with bortezomib, suggesting the cooperative blockade of PRC2 function. Notably, this combination also exhibited strong synergy in prostate cancer cells.Conclusions: Our results identify dual inhibition of EZH2 and EZH1 together with proteasome inhibition as a promising epigenetics-based therapy for PRC2-dependent cancers. Clin Cancer Res; 23(16); 4817-30. ©2017 AACR.

The loss of Ezh2 drives the pathogenesis of myelofibrosis and sensitizes tumor-initiating cells to bromodomain inhibition.

EZH2 is a component of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and functions as an H3K27 methyltransferase. Loss-of-function mutations in EZH2 are associated with poorer outcomes in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), particularly those with primary myelofibrosis (MF [PMF]). To determine how EZH2 insufficiency is involved in the pathogenesis of PMF, we generated mice compound for an Ezh2 conditional deletion and activating mutation in JAK2 (JAK2V617F) present in patients with PMF. The deletion of Ezh2 in JAK2(V617F) mice markedly promoted the development of MF, indicating a tumor suppressor function for EZH2 in PMF. The loss of Ezh2 in JAK2(V617F) hematopoietic cells caused significant reductions in H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) levels, resulting in an epigenetic switch to H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac). These epigenetic switches were closely associated with the activation of PRC2 target genes including Hmga2, an oncogene implicated in the pathogenesis of PMF. The treatment of JAK2(V617F)/Ezh2-null mice with a bromodomain inhibitor significantly attenuated H3K27ac levels at the promoter regions of PRC2 targets and down-regulated their expression, leading to the abrogation of MF-initiating cells. Therefore, an EZH2 insufficiency not only cooperated with active JAK2 to induce MF, but also conferred an oncogenic addiction to the H3K27ac modification in MF-initiating cells that was capable of being restored by bromodomain inhibition.