Anti-Myc (L56) Antibody (A25272)

DACT2 (Dapper, Dishevelled-associated antagonist of β-catenin homolog 2) is a member of the DACT family involved in the regulation of embryonic development. Human DACT2 is localized on 6q27, a region of frequent loss of heterozygosity in human cancers. However, the regulation of DACT2 expression and function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. In this study, genetic and epigenetic changes of DACT2 were analyzed in HCC cell lines and primary cancer. We found no single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with HCC. Promoter region methylation was correlated with loss or reduction of DACT2 expression, and restoration of DACT2 expression was induced by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA) in HCC cell lines. Promoter region methylation was found in 54.84% of primary HCC. Reduction of DACT2 expression was associated with promoter hypermethylation, and expression of DACT2 was inversely related to β-catenin expression in primary HCC. DACT2 suppressed cell proliferation, induced G 2-M arrest in cell lines and inhibited tumor growth in xenograft nude mice. The transcriptional activity of TCF-4 and the expression of Wnt signaling downstream genes were suppressed by DACT2 re-expression and reactivated by depletion of DACT2. In conclusion, DACT2 is frequently methylated in HCC and its expression is regulated by promoter hypermethylation. DACT2 suppresses HCC by inhibiting Wnt signaling in human HCC.

AIMS:

To explore the epigenetic changes and the function of TFPI-2 in esophageal cancer.

MATERIALS & METHODS:

Nine esophageal cancer cell lines, nine normal esophageal mucosa, 60 esophageal dysplasia and 106 advanced esophageal cancer samples were included in this study. TFPI-2 methylation was examined by methylation-specific PCR. TFPI-2 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tissue samples. The effect of TFPI-2 on proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration was analyzed by colony formation assay, western blot assay, transwell assay and flow cytometric analysis.

RESULTS:

TFPI-2 expression was regulated by promoter region hypermethylation in human esophageal cancer cell lines, and TFPI-2 expression is inversely correlated with methylation in primary cancer. Methylation was found in 28.2, 33.3 and 33.3% of grade 1, 2 and 3 esophageal dysplasia, and 67% of primary esophageal cancer, but no methylation was found in normal mucosa. Methylation is significantly related to tumor differentiation. Inhibition of invasion, migration, colony formation and proliferation, and induction of apoptosis occurred with the restoration of TFPI-2 expression in the KYSE70 cell line.

CONCLUSION:

TFPI-2 is frequently methylated in esophageal cancer with a progression tendency. TFPI-2 is a potential tumor suppressor in esophageal cancer.

Nostoc commune has been traditionally used in China as a health food and medicine. The water stress proteins (WSP) of Nostoc commune are the major component of the extracellular matrix. This study purified and identified the water stress proteins (WSP1) from Nostoc commune Vauch., which could inhibit the proliferation of human colon cancer cell lines. The IC50 values of WSP1 against DLD1, HCT116, HT29, and SW480 cells were 0.19 ± 0.02, 0.21 ± 0.03, 0.39 ± 0.05, and 0.41 ± 0.01 μg/μL, respectively. Notably, it displayed very little effect on the normal human intestinal epithelial FHC cell line. The IC50 value of WSP1 against FHC cells was 0.67 ± 0.05 μg/μL. Moreover, the growth of DLD1 xenografted tumors in nude mice were significantly suppressed in the WSP1 treated group. Mechanistically, the cell-cycle analysis revealed that WSP1 induced growth inhibition by G1/S arrest. Meanwhile, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry assays showed WSP1 could activate caspase-8, -9, and -3, along with subsequent PARP cleavage. Furthermore, the pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-FMK, partly reversed the effect caused by WSP1, confirming that WSP1 induced cell apoptosis through caspase-dependent pathway. Collectively, WSP1 has targeted inhibition for colon cancer proliferation both in vitro and in vivo and it is valuable for future exploitation and utilization as an antitumor agent.

The long-term survival for elderly patients with advanced ovarian papillary serous carcinoma (OPSC) does not exceed 30%, and the incidence and prognosis rise continuously after menopause. The aim of this study was to identify the differences in key miRNAs and their potential regulators through miRNA microarray analysis, functional target prediction, and clinical outcome between the elderly patients with advanced OPSC and ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCC) who all suffered poor prognosis, to identify the pathogenetic basis, and to improve the understanding of the molecular basis of advanced OPCS in elderly patients. Through microarray analysis, we found 52 unique miRNAs with significant fold‑change in expression levels, of which 9 were upregulated, whereas 43 were downregulated in OCC patients compared to elderly OPSC patients with advanced stage. Among these prediction miRNAs, miR-30a, miR-30e and miR-505 were found to have some common cancer-related targets. Lower expression of these three miRNAs of advanced OPSC in elderly patients, all associated with significantly poorer survival rate, strongly suggesting that they could be critical oncogenes and take important roles in OPSC etiology in elderly patients with advantaged stage. Functional analyses support the above hypothesis. Their targets, ATF3, STMN1 and MYC suggest that OPSC also has aggressive biological behavior when presented with advanced stage, and support the epidemiology results that incidence and mortality of advanced OPSC increases continuously. miR-30a, miR-30e and miR-505 may be important pathogenetic factors for OPSC in elderly patients with advanced stage. Age could be regarded as a continuous covariate in this process. This may improve the understanding of molecular underpinnings of advanced OPSC in elderly patients, and provide improved diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches.

Graphene oxide (GO) has attracted intensive interest in the biomedical field in recent years. We investigate whether the use of functional graphene oxide as an efficient delivery system for delivering specific molecular antitumor therapeutics in vivo could achieve a more excellent antitumor effect. Constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) promotes survival in a wide spectrum of human cancers. In this paper, we study the in vivo behavior of graphene oxide chemically functionalized with polyethylenimine and polyethylene glycol (GO-PEI-PEG) as a plasmid-based Stat3-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) carrier in mouse malignant melanoma. The in vivo results indicate significant regression in tumor growth and tumor weight after plasmid-based Stat3 siRNA delivered by GO-PEI-PEG treatment. Moreover, there was no significant side effect from GO-PEI-PEG treatment according to histological examination and blood chemistry analysis in mice. Thus, our work is the first success of using GO-PEI-PEG as a promising carrier for plasmid Stat3 siRNA delivery and down-regulation of Stat3 by a polymer-mediated vehicle and suggests the great promise of graphene in biomedical applications such as cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the role of B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi-1) in gastric cancer (GC) and its relationship with the clinicopathological features of GC.

METHODS:

Laser capture microdissection combined with real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to determine the expressions of Bmi-1, the cellular homologue of avian myelocytomatosis virus (c-Myc), enhancer of Zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) and epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) in 20 GC specimens and the adjacent non-cancerous gastric tissues.

RESULTS:

The mRNA and protein expressions of Bmi-1 in GC were increased compared with those of the non-cancerous gastric tissues (P = 0.012 and P = 0.000, respectively). Bmi-1 mRNA expression was positively correlated with tumor size, degree of tumor differentiation, invasion and lymph node metastasis. At both mRNA and protein levels, Bmi-1 was positively correlated with c-Myc and EZH2, but negatively correlated with PTEN and E-cadherin.

CONCLUSION:

Bmi-1 might be involved in GC at both transcription and translation levels.

© 2014 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.