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Drug resistance has remained an important issue in the treatment and prevention of various diseases, including cancer. Herein, we found that USP24 not only repressed DNA-damage repair (DDR) activity by decreasing Rad51 expression to cause the tumor genomic instability and cancer stemness, but also increased the levels of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters P-gp, ABCG2, and ezrin to enhance the pumping out of Taxol from cancer cells, thus resulted in drug resistance during cancer therapy. A novel USP24 inhibitor, NCI677397, was screened for specific inhibiting the catalytic activity of USP24. This inhibitor was identified to suppress drug resistance via decreasing genomic instability, cancer stemness, and the pumping out of drugs from cancer cells. Understanding the role and molecular mechanisms of USP24 in drug resistance will be beneficial for the future development of a novel USP24 inhibitor. Our studies provide a new insight of USP24 inhibitor for clinically implication of blocking drug resistance during chemotherapy.

Previous studies indicate that estrogen positively regulates lung cancer progression. Understanding the reasons will be beneficial for treating women with lung cancer in the future. In this study, we found that tumor formation was more significant in female EGFRL858R mice than in male mice. P53 expression levels were downregulated in the estradiol (E2)-treated lung cancer cells, female mice with EGFRL858R-induced lung cancer mice, and premenopausal women with lung cancer. E2 increased DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) expression to enhance methylation in the TP53 promoter, which led to the downregulation of p53. Overexpression of GFP-p53 decreased DNMT1 expression in lung cancer cells. TP53 knockout in mice with EGFRL858R-induced lung cancer not only changed gene expression in cancer cells but also increased the polarization of M2 macrophages by increasing C–C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) expression and decreasing growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) expression. The TP53 mutation rate was increased in females with late-stage but not early-stage lung cancer compared to males with lung cancer. In conclusion, E2-induced DNMT1 and p53 expression were negatively regulated each other in females with lung cancer, which not only affected cancer cells but also modulated the tumor-associated microenvironment, ultimately leading to a poor prognosis.

Background Sp1, an important transcription factor, is involved in the progression of various cancers. Our previous studies have indicated that Sp1 levels are increased in the early stage of lung cancer progression but decrease during the late stage, leading to poor prognosis. In addition, estrogen has been shown to be involved in lung cancer progression. According to previous studies, Sp1 can interact with the estrogen receptor (ER) to coregulate gene expression. The role of interaction between Sp1 and ER in lung cancer progression is still unknown and will be clarified in this study. Methods The clinical relevance between Sp1 levels and survival rates in young women with lung cancer was studied by immunohistochemistry. We validated the sex dependence of lung cancer progression in EGFRL858R-induced lung cancer mice. Wound healing assays, chamber assays and sphere formation assays in A549 cells, Taxol-induced drug-resistant A549 (A549-T24) and estradiol (E2)-treated A549 (E2-A549) cells were performed to investigate the roles of Taxol and E2 in lung cancer progression. Luciferase reporter assays, immunoblot and q-PCR were performed to evaluate the interaction between Sp1, microRNAs and CD44. Tail vein-injected xenograft experiments were performed to study lung metastasis. Samples obtained from lung cancer patients were used to study the mRNA level of CD44 by q-PCR and the protein levels of Sp1 and CD44 by immunoblot and immunohistochemistry. Results In this study, we found that Sp1 expression was decreased in premenopausal women with late-stage lung cancer, resulting in a poor prognosis. Tumor formation was more substantial in female EGFRL858R mice than in male mice and ovariectomized female mice, indicating that E2 might be involved in the poor prognosis of lung cancer. We herein report that Sp1 negatively regulates metastasis and cancer stemness in E2-A549 and A549-T24 cells. Furthermore, E2 increases the mRNA and protein levels of RING finger protein 4 (RNF4), which is the E3-ligase of Sp1, and thereby decreases Sp1 levels by promoting Sp1 degradation. Sp1 can be recruited to the promoter of miR-3194-5p, and positively regulate its expression. Furthermore, there was a strong inverse correlation between Sp1 and CD44 levels in clinical lung cancer specimens. Sp1 inhibited CD44 expression by increasing the expression of miR-3194-5p, miR-218-5p, miR-193-5p, miR-182-5p and miR-135-5p, ultimately resulting in lung cancer malignancy. Conclusion Premenopausal women with lung cancer and decreased Sp1 levels have a poor prognosis. E2 increases RNF4 expression to repress Sp1 levels in premenopausal women with lung cancer, thus decreasing the expression of several miRNAs that can target CD44 and ultimately leading to cancer malignancy.

Protein ubiquitination is an important mechanism for regulating the activity and levels of proteins under physiological conditions. Loss of regulation by protein ubiquitination leads to various diseases, such as cancer. Two types of enzymes, namely, E1/E2/E3 ligases and deubiquitinases, are responsible for controlling protein ubiquitination. The ubiquitin-specific peptidases (USPs) are the main members of the deubiquitinase family. Many studies have addressed the roles of USPs in various diseases. An increasing number of studies have indicated that USPs are critical for cancer progression, and some USPs have been used as targets to develop inhibitors for cancer prevention. Herein we collect and organize most of the recent studies on the roles of USPs in cancer progression and discuss the development of USP inhibitors for cancer therapy in the future.

Bromodomain (BRD)-containing proteins are important for chromatin remodeling to regulate gene expression. In this study, we found that the deubiquitinase USP24 interacted with BRD through its C-terminus increased the levels of most BRD-containing proteins through increasing their protein stability by the removal of ubiquitin from Lys391/Lys400 of the BRD. In addition, we found that USP24 and BRG1 could regulate each other through regulating the protein stability and the transcriptional activity, respectively, of the other, suggesting that the levels of USP24 and BRG1 are regulated to form a positive feedback loop in cancer progression. Loss of the interaction motif of USP24 eliminated the ability of USP24 to stabilize BRD-containing proteins and abolished the effect of USP24 on cancer progression, including its inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and promotion of cancer cell migration, suggesting that the interaction between USP24 and the BRD is important for USP24-mediated effects on cancer progression. The targeting of BRD-containing proteins has been developed as a strategy for cancer therapy. Based on our study, targeting USP24 to inhibit the levels of BRD-containing proteins may inhibit cancer progression.

Solanum incanum extract (SR-T100), containing the active ingredient solamargine, can induce apoptosis via upregulation of tumor necrosis factor receptor expression and activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, and has therapeutic effects in patients with actinic keratosis. Here, we evaluate the novel molecular mechanisms underlying SR-T100-regulated stemness and chemoresistance. The concentration of SR-T100 that inhibited 50% cell viability (IC50) was lower in ovarian cancer cells than in nonmalignant cells. Furthermore, the SR-T100 IC50 in chemoresistant cells was similar to the IC50 in chemosensitive cells. Additionally, SR-T100 increased cisplatin and paclitaxel sensitivity in chemoresistant cells. SR-T100 downregulated the expression of stem cell markers, including aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), Notch1, and FoxM1, and reduced sphere formation in ovarian cancer cells. Using microarray analyses, immunoblotting, luciferase activity, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays, we showed that SR-T100 suppressed the expression of c/EBPβ and COL11A1, and its promoter activity, in resistant cells, but not sensitive cells. SR-T100, paclitaxel, and cisplatin inhibited the growth of A2780CP70 cells in mouse xenografts, as compared to the vehicle control, and the combination of cisplatin and SR-T100 was more effective than either treatment alone. SR-T100 may represent a potential therapeutic adjunct to chemotherapy for ovarian cancer treatment.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) is a cancer stem-like cell (CSC) marker in human cancers; however, the specific ALDH1-regulated function and its underlying signalling pathways have not been fully demonstrated. Here, we investigated the ALDH1-regulated function and its underlying signalling and tested whether all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) can suppress ALDH1-regulated tumour behaviour in ovarian cancer cells. By modulating ALDH1 expression using flow cytometry enrichment and exogenous overexpression or knockdown, we showed that the ALDH1 activity is positively correlated with stemness in ovarian cancer cells according to measures such as sphere formation and CSC marker expression as well as tumourigenesis in a mouse xenograft model. The findings indicate that the ALDH1 directly regulates the functions of ovarian cancer cells. We also showed that ALDH1 can regulate the expression of FoxM1 and Notch 1, which are involved in the downstream signalling of ALDH1-mediated biofunctions. Inhibition of FoxM1 by Thiostrepton and of Notch1 by DAPT downregulated the sphere formation ability of cells. ATRA reduced ALDH1 expression, suppressed tumour formation and inhibited sphere formation, cell migration and invasion in ALDH1-abundant ovarian cancer cells. We conclude that ATRA downregulates ALDH1/FoxM1/Notch1 signalling and suppresses tumour formation in ovarian cancer cells.

We have previously demonstrated that USP24 is involved in cancer progression. Here, we found that USP24 expression is upregulated in M2 macrophages and lung cancer cells. Conditioned medium from USP24-knockdown M2 macrophages decreases the migratory and chemotactic activity of lung cancer cells and the angiogenic properties of human microvascular endothelial cell 1 (HMEC-1). IL-6 expression is significantly decreased in USP24-knockdown M2 macrophages and lung cancer cells, and IL-6-replenished conditioned medium restores the migratory, chemotactic and angiogenetic properties of the cells. USP24 stabilizes p300 and β-TrCP to increase the levels of histone-3 acetylation and NF-κB, and decreases the levels of DNMT1 and IκB, thereby increasing IL-6 transcription in M2 macrophages and lung cancer cells, results in cancer malignancy finally. IL-6 has previously been a target for cancer drug development. Here, we provide direct evidence to support that USP24 promotes IL-6 expression, which might be beneficial for cancer therapy., USP24 has previously been reported to be involved in cancer progression. Here, the authors demonstrate that USP24 stabilizes p300 and β-TrCP to increase the levels of NF-κB and histone-3 acetylation, and decrease DNMT1 and IκB levels which promotes IL-6 expression in M2 macrophages and lung cancer cells.

Our recent studies have indicated that specificity protein-1 (Sp1) accumulates substantially in the early stage of lung cancer but is partially decreased in the late stages, which is an important factor in the progression of the cancer. In this study, we found that Nm23-H1 and hnRNPA2/B1 could be recruited to the 5′UTR of Sp1 mRNA. In investigating the clinical relevance of Nm23-H1/Sp1 levels, we found a positive correlation between lung cancer patients with poor prognosis and low levels of Sp1 and Nm23-H1, suggesting an association between Nm23-H1/Sp1 levels and survival rate. Knockdown of Nm23-H1 inhibits lung cancer growth but increases lung cancer cell malignancy, which could be rescued by overexpression of Sp1, indicating that Nm23-H1-induced Sp1 expression is critical for lung cancer progression. We also found that Nm23-H1 increases the protein stability of hnRNPA2/B1and is thereby co-recruited to the 5′UTR of Sp1 mRNA to regulate cap-independent translational activity. Since the Sp1 level is tightly regulated during lung cancer progression, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation by Nm23-H1/hnRNPA2B1 of Sp1 expression in the various stages of lung cancer will be beneficial for lung cancer therapy in the future.

Thrombospondin (TSP)-1, a potent angiogenesis inhibitor, has been shown to exert different biological functions on various cell types. Here, we investigate the role of TSP-1 in tumor-stroma reaction, which is mainly characterized by fibroblast activation to create a permissive microenvironment for tumor progression. Immunohistochemistry examinations in the human surgical specimens have shown that a downregulation of TSP-1 during the progression of cervical carcinogenesis was accompanied by an emergence in the upregulation of stroma markers, alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and desmin. Transfection of SiHa cervical cancer cells with a plasmid expressing the TSP-1 protein exhibited antiangiogenic activity in vitro and resulted in reduced tumor growth in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, which was accompanied by a decrease in tumor vascularization and lower expressions of alpha-SMA and desmin than those in the vector controls. Transfection with TSP-1 and purified TSP-1 added to NIH3T3 cells did not alter the protein levels of alpha-SMA and desmin but significantly inhibited matrix metalloprotease-2 activity. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), a major factor in the activation of fibroblasts, increased alpha-SMA and desmin expression and the ability of cell migration and invasion in NIH3T3 cells. The increased migration ability and the invasive ability into tumor cluster of TGF-beta-treated NIH3T3 cells were dose dependently inhibited by TSP-1. In contrast, ectopic TSP-1 expression in SiHa cells has little effect on the invasive ability of the NIH3T3 cells. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel role of TSP-1 to inhibit tumor-stroma reaction that could be attributed to the blockage of activated fibroblasts from invading cancer cells.

Vaccinia virus does not grow in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells in the absence of a viral host range factor, cowpox protein CP77. In this study, CP77 was fused to the C terminus of green fluorescence protein (GFP-CP77) and a series of nested deletion mutants of GFP-CP77 was constructed for insertion into a vaccinia virus host range mutant, VV-hr, and expressed from a viral early promoter. Deletion mapping analyses demonstrated that the N-terminal 352 amino acids of CP77 were sufficient to support vaccinia virus growth in CHO-K1 cells, whereas the C-terminal residues 353 to 668 were dispensable. In yeast two-hybrid analyses, CP77 bound to a cellular protein, HMG20A, and GST pulldown analyses showed that residues 1 to 234 of CP77 were sufficient for this interaction. After VV-hr virus infection of CHO-K1 cells, HMG20A was translocated from the nucleus to viral factories and bound to the viral genome via the HMG box region. In control VV-hr-infected CHO-K1 cells, binding of HMG20A to the viral genome persisted from 2 to 8 h postinfection (h p.i.); in contrast, when CP77 was expressed, the association of HMG20A with viral genome was transient, with little HMG20A remaining bound at 8 h p.i. This indicates that dissociation of HMG20A from viral factories correlates well with CP77 host range activity in CHO-K1 cells. Finally, in cells expressing a CP77 deletion protein (amino acids 277 to 668) or a ΔANK5 mutant that did not support vaccinia virus growth and did not contain the HMG20A binding site, HMG20A remained bound to viral DNA, demonstrating that the binding of CP77 to HMG20A is essential for its host range function. In summary, our data revealed that a novel cellular protein, HMG20A, the dissociation of which from viral DNA is regulated by CP77, providing the first cellular target regulated by viral host range CP77 protein.

Dengue virus (DV) is a flavivirus and infects mammalian cells through mosquito vectors. This study investigates the roles of domain III of DV type 2 envelope protein (EIII) in DV binding to the host cell. Recombinant EIII interferes with DV infection to BHK21 and C6/36 cells by blocking dengue virion adsorption to these cells. Inhibition of EIII on BHK21 cells was broad with no serotype specificity; however, inhibition of EIII on C6/36 cells was relatively serotype specific. Soluble heparin completely blocks binding of EIII to BHK21 cells, suggesting that domain III binds mainly to cell surface heparan sulfates. This suggestion is supported by the observation that EIII binds very weakly to gro2C and sog9 mutant mammalian cell lines that lack heparan sulfate. In contrast, heparin does not block binding of EIII to mosquito cells. Furthermore, a synthetic peptide that includes amino acids (aa) 380 to 389 of EIII, IGVEPGQLKL, inhibits binding of EIII to C6/36 but not BHK21 cells. This peptide corresponds to a lateral loop region on domain III of E protein, indicating a possible role of this loop in binding to mosquito cells. In summary, these results suggest that EIII plays an important role in binding of DV type 2 to host cells. In addition, EIII interacts with heparan sulfates when binding to BHK21 cells, and a loop region containing aa 380 to 389 of EIII may participate in DV type 2 binding to C6/36 cells.