Chemoresistance Of Gastric Cancer Cells Research Articles

BATF2 inhibits the stem cell-like properties and chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells through PTEN/AKT/β-catenin pathway

BATF2 inhibits the stem cell-like properties and chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells through PTEN/AKT/β-catenin pathway

Diallyl disulfide antagonizes DJ-1 mediated proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and chemoresistance in gastric cancer cells.

Diallyl disulfide (DADS), an organic component of allicin abstracted from garlic, possesses multi-target antitumor activity. DJ-1 performs a vital function in promoting AKT aberrant activation via down-regulating phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) in tumors. It is unknown the involvement of DJ-1 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of gastric cancer (GC) cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether diallyl disulfide (DADS) intervenes in the role of DJ-1 in GC. Based on the identification that the correlation between high DJ-1 and low PTEN expression in GC was implicated in clinical progression, we illuminated that down-regulation of DJ-1 by DADS aided in an increase in PTEN expression and a decrease in phosphorylated AKT levels, which was in line with the results manifested in the DJ-1 knockdown and overexpressed cells, concurrently inhibiting proliferation, EMT, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, the antagonistic effects of DADS on DJ-1 were observed in in vivo experiments. Additionally, DADS mitigated the DJ-1-associated drug resistance. The current study revealed that DJ-1 is one of potential targets for DADS, which hopefully provides a promising strategy for prevention and adjuvant chemotherapy of GC.

Targeting Ubiquitin-specific Protease 5 Overcomes Chemoresistance via Negatively Regulating p53 in Gastric Cancer.

Resistance to chemotherapy is a major obstacle in the clinical management of gastric cancer, and the mechanisms underlying chemoresistance remain largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the involvement of ubiquitin-specific protease 5 (USP5), a deubiquitinating enzyme, in gastric cancer chemoresistance Methods: USP5 expression was analyzed in fifty paired gastric cancer and adjacent normal tissues, chemo-sensitive and chemo-resistant gastric cancer lines using quantitative ELISA. The role of USP5 was determined using loss-of-function and gainof- function methods. USP5-mediated downstream effectors were analyzed using biochemical methods focusing on p53. USP5 expression was comparable in tumors and normal in the majority of the cohort. Following chemotherapy treatment, USP5 expression significantly increased in gastric cancer cells, while p53 levels remained unaltered. Overexpression of USP5 amplified growth and migration while decreasing apoptosis induced by serum withdrawal across multiple gastric cancer cell lines. Conversely, USP5 knockdown effectively heightened gastric cancer sensitivity to paclitaxel and 5-FU treatments, particularly targeting chemo-resistant gastric cancer cells by inhibiting proliferation and migration and inducing apoptosis. Additionally, USP5 knockdown increased levels of p53 but not MDM2, increased p53 activity and increased transcription of p53 target genes. In contrast, USP5 overexpression decreased the level and activity of p53 and inhibited transcription of p53 target genes. The anti-proliferative, anti-migratory, and pro-apoptotic effects of USP5 were significantly diminished upon p53 depletion, highlighting the interplay between p53 and USP5 in regulating gastric cancer cell activities. Additionally, USP5 inhibition suppressed chemo-resistant gastric cancer cell migration via suppressing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and RhoA activity. Targeting USP5 inhibition has emerged as a promising alternative therapeutic approach to overcoming chemoresistance in gastric cancer. Additionally, our study sheds light on the novel role of USP5 as a regulator of p53 in gastric cancer.

Caveolin-1 mediates the utilization of extracellular proteins for survival in refractory gastric cancer

Despite advances in cancer therapy, the clinical outcome of patients with gastric cancer remains poor, largely due to tumor heterogeneity. Thus, finding a hidden vulnerability of clinically refractory subtypes of gastric cancer is crucial. Here, we report that chemoresistant gastric cancer cells rely heavily on endocytosis, facilitated by caveolin-1, for survival. caveolin-1 was highly upregulated in the most malignant stem-like/EMT/mesenchymal (SEM)-type gastric cancer cells, allowing caveolin-1-mediated endocytosis and utilization of extracellular proteins via lysosomal degradation. Downregulation of caveolin-1 alone was sufficient to induce cell death in SEM-type gastric cancer cells, emphasizing its importance as a survival mechanism. Consistently, chloroquine, a lysosomal inhibitor, successfully blocked caveolin-1-mediated endocytosis, leading to the marked suppression of tumor growth in chemorefractory gastric cancer cells in vitro, including patient-derived organoids, and in vivo. Together, our findings suggest that caveolin-1-mediated endocytosis is a key metabolic pathway for gastric cancer survival and a potential therapeutic target.

Androgen receptor promotes cell stemness via interacting with co-factor YAP1 in gastric cancer

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been proposed to explain tumor relapse and chemoresistance in various types of cancers, and androgen receptor (AR) has been emerged as a potential regulator of stemness in cancers. However, the underlying mechanism of AR-regulated CSCs properties and chemoresistance in gastric cancer (GC) remains unknown. Here, we shown that AR is upregulated in GC tissues and correlates with poor survival rate and CSCs phenotypes of GC patients. According to our experimental data, overexpression of AR upregulated the expression of CSCs markers and this was consistent with the result concluded from data analysis that the expression of AR was positively correlated with CD44 in GC patients. In addition, AR overexpression obviously enhanced the tumor sphere formation ability and chemoresistance of GC cells in vitro. Whereas these effects were attenuated by inhibition of AR. These results were further validated in vivo that MGC-803 cells overexpressing AR had stronger properties to initiate gastric tumorigenesis than the control cells, and inhibition of AR increased the chemosensitivity of GC cells. Mechanically, AR upregulated CD44 expression by directly binding to its promoter region and Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) served as the co-factor of AR, which was demonstrated by the fact that the promoting effects of AR on GC cells stemness were partially counteracted by YAP1 knockdown. Thus, this study revealed that AR facilitates CSCs properties and chemoresistance of GC cells via forming complex with YAP1and indicates a potential therapeutic approach to GC patients.

Metformin induces autophagy of cisplatin-resistant human gastric cancer cells in addition to apoptosis.

Metformin has been used to treat cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and mounting studies have shown that metformin can act alone or in synergy with other anticancer agents to achieve anti-cancer efficacies on various types of tumors. However, the role of metformin in either inducing autophagy and cisplatin-resistance of human gastric cancer (GC) cells has never been examined. The study has established a cisplatin-resistant GC cell line and investigated the effects of metformin on inducing autophagy on it. The results demonstrated that treatment with metformin can concentration-dependently suppress the cell viability and cell confluence of cisplatin-resistant GC cells, while having no effects on human primary stomach epithelial cells (HPSEC). For the first time, we found that metformin can significantly increase the acidic vesicular organelles (AVO) level and decrease the acridine orange (AO) level spontaneously in the cisplatin-resistant GC cells. Thus, we further checked the other markers, Atg5, Atg12 and LC3-II, which showed that metformin indeed induced autophagy in the cisplatin-resistant GC cells. In addition, treatment of 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) can significantly rescue the metformin-induced autophagy. At the same time, metformin can induce the alterations of apoptosis-associated signal molecules, such as caspase-3 and caspase-7 activities. Overall, the pilot study provided evidence for metformin induced autophagy in addition to apoptosis, making it as an effective anticancer drug for the therapy of cisplatin-resistant GC. Killing the cisplatin-resistant GC cells with non-toxic metformin via both autophagy and apoptosis might extend its usefulness in our fighting with chemo-resistance of gastric cancer cells.

MSC-NPRA loop drives fatty acid oxidation to promote stemness and chemoresistance of gastric cancer

Cisplatin (CDDP)-based chemotherapy is the preferred treatment strategy for advanced stage gastric cancer (GC) patients. Despite the efficacy of chemotherapy, the development of chemoresistance negatively affects the prognosis of GC and the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Accumulated evidence suggests that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play important roles in drug resistance. The chemoresistance and stemness of GC cells were observed by colony formation, CCK-8, sphere formation and flow cytometry assays. Cell lines and animal models were utilized to investigate related functions. Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and co-immunoprecipitation were used to explore related pathways. The results showed that MSCs improved the stemness and chemoresistance of GC cells and accounted for the poor prognosis of GC. Natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPRA) was upregulated in GC cells cocultured with MSCs and knockdown of NPRA reversed the MSC-induced stemness and chemoresistance. At the same time, MSCs could be recruited to GC by NPRA, which formed a loop. In addition, NPRA facilitated stemness and chemoresistance through fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Mechanistically, NPRA protected Mfn2 against protein degradation and promoted its mitochondrial localization, which consequently improved FAO. Furthermore, inhibition of FAO with etomoxir (ETX) attenuated MSC-induced CDDP resistance in vivo. In conclusion, MSC-induced NPRA promoted stemness and chemoresistance by upregulating Mfn2 and improving FAO. These findings help us understand the role of NPRA in the prognosis and chemotherapy of GC. NPRA may be a promising target to overcome chemoresistance.

Cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A enhances chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells to oxaliplatin.

Cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A) is a newly discovered oncogene. It is an active cell proliferation regulatory factor that inhibits tumor apoptosis in gastric cancer (GC) cells. CIP2A is functionally related to chemoresistance in various types of tumors according to recent studies. The underlying mechanism, however, is unknown. Further, the primary treatment regimen for GC is oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Nonetheless, it often fails due to chemoresistance of GC cells to oxaliplatin. The goal of this study was to examine CIP2A expression and its association with oxaliplatin resistance in human GC cells. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine CIP2A expression in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. CIP2A expression in GC cell lines was reduced using small interfering RNA. After confirming the silencing efficiency, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide tetrazolium and flow cytometry assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation and apoptosis caused by oxaliplatin treatment. Further, the key genes and protein changes were verified using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting, respectively, before and after intervention. For bioinformatics analysis, we used the R software and Bioconductor project. For statistical analysis, we used GraphPad Prism 6.0 and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 20.0 (IBM, Armonk, United States). A high level of CIP2A expression was associated with tumor size, T stage, lymph node metastasis, Tumor Node Metastasis stage, and a poor prognosis. Further, CIP2A expression was higher in GC cells than in normal human gastric epithelial cells. Using small interfering RNA against CIP2A, we discovered that CIP2A knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and significantly increased GC cell sensitivity to oxaliplatin. Moreover, CIP2A knockdown enhanced oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis in GC cells. Hence, high CIP2A levels in GC may be a factor in chemoresistance to oxaliplatin. In human GC cells, CIP2A regulated protein kinase B phosphorylation, and chemical inhibition of the protein kinase B signaling pathway was significantly associated with increased sensitivity to oxaliplatin. Therefore, the protein kinase B signaling pathway was correlated with CIP2A-enhanced chemoresistance of human GC cells to oxaliplatin. CIP2A expression could be a novel therapeutic strategy for chemoresistance in GC.

Annexin A1 induces oxaliplatin resistance of gastric cancer through autophagy by targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR.

Resistance to oxaliplatin (OXA) is a major cause of recurrence in gastric cancer (GC) patients. Autophagy is an important factor ensuring the survival of cancer cells under chemotherapeutic stress. We aimed to investigate the role of OXA-related genes in autophagy and chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells. We established OXA-resistant gastric cancer cells and used RNA-seq to profile gene expression within OXA-resistant GC and corresponding parental cells. Immunohistochemistry and RT-qPCR was performed to detect gene expression in tissues of two cohorts of GC patients who received OXA-based chemotherapy. The chemoresistant effects of the gene were assessed by cell viability, apoptosis, and autophagy assays. The effects of the gene on autophagy were assessed with mRFP-GFP-LC3 and Western blotting (WB). Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and WB were performed to detect the activity of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling under the regulation of the gene. The OXA-resistant property of GC cells is related to their enhanced autophagic activity. Based on RNA-seq profiling, ANXA1 was selected as a candidate, as it was upregulated significantly in OXA-resistant cells. Furthermore, we found that higher ANXA1 expression before chemotherapy was associated with subsequent development of resistance to oxaliplatin, and overexpression of ANXA1 promoted the resistance of gastric cancer cells to oxaliplatin. So, it may serve as a key regulator in GC chemo-resistance knockdown of ANXA1, via inhibiting autophagy, enhancing the sensitivity of OXA-resistant GC cells to OXA in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, we identified that PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway was activated in the ANXA1 stable knockdown AGS/OXA cells, which leads to the suppression of autophagy. ANXA1 functions as a chemoresistant gene in GC cells by targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and might be a prognostic predictor for GC patients who receive OXA-based chemotherapy.

Exosomal hsa-let-7g-3p and hsa-miR-10395-3p derived from peritoneal lavage predict peritoneal metastasis and the efficacy of neoadjuvant intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer.

The prognosis of advanced gastric cancer (GC) invading the gastric serosa remains poor, mainly owing to high incidence of peritoneal recurrence. Patients with peritoneal metastases are often treated with neoadjuvant intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapies (NIPS). Good responders to NIPS often undergo conversion gastrectomy. This study aims to explore biomarkers predicting the occurrence of peritoneal metastasis (PM) and evaluating the efficacy of NIPS in GC patients. We collected six peritoneal lavage (PL) samples from two patients with PM, two without PM, and two with diminished PM after NIPS via intraperitoneal access ports. We equally isolated microRNAs from exosomes derived from PL samples for deep sequencing. Two microRNAs (hsa-let-7g-3p and hsa-miR-10395-3p) were identified, and their expression levels were examined in PL samples of 99 GC patients using qRT-PCR. Moreover, we performed in vivo and in vitro functional assays to investigate effects of these microRNAs on metastasis and chemoresistance of GC cells. Exosomal microRNA expression profiling of six PL samples indicated that the microRNA signature in exosomes of PLs from patients with diminished PM was similar to that from patients without PM. Expression levels of hsa-let-7g-3p and hsa-miR-10395-3p were associated with PM. In vivo and in vitro functional assays confirmed that hsa-let-7g-3p and hsa-miR-10395-3p are involved in GC metastasis and chemoresistance. PL-derived exosomes in GC contain large amounts of microRNAs related to PM. Moreover, hsa-let-7g-3p and hsa-miR-10395-3p could be used as biomarkers predicting PM and NIPS efficacy and are involved in GC metastasis and chemoresistance.

FAM117B promotes gastric cancer growth and drug resistance by targeting the KEAP1/NRF2 signaling pathway.

Gastric cancer often shows malignant growth and insensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs due to the regulation of complex molecular mechanisms, which results in poor prognosis for patients. However, the relevant molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we reported that family with sequence similarity 117, member B (FAM117B), promoted the growth of gastric cancer cells and reduced the sensitivity of cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. Mechanistically, FAM117B competed with nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) for Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) binding, reduced the ubiquitination degradation of NRF2, and activated the KEAP1/NRF2 signaling pathway. Moreover, FAM117B-induced growth and chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells were NRF2 dependent. We found that FAM117B and NRF2 protein levels were highly expressed in tumor tissues of patients with gastric cancer and their co-overexpression represented an independent factor for poor prognosis. Collectively, our findings reveal that FAM117B is involved in promoting gastric cancer growth and drug resistance, and it could be exploited as a cancer therapeutic target.

LncRNA MIR155HG Overexpression Promotes Proliferation, Migration, and Chemoresistance in Gastric Cancer Cells.

Long non-coding RNAs are thought to play a vital role in a variety of human malignancies. Studies have shown that MIR155 host gene (MIR155HG) acts as an oncogene in several cancers, but the function and its mechanism of MIR155HG in gastric cancer (GC) is still poorly understood. In this study, we determined the biological functions and underlying mechanisms of MIR155HG in GC cells. We found that expression levels of MIR155HG was increased markedly in GC patients' serum. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that MIR155HG modulated the malignant phenotype of GC cells, such as cell proliferation, colony forming ability, cell migration ability, and tumor growth in nude mice. Next, our results revealed that NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways could be involved in regulating the malignant behavior of GC cells. Our rescue experiments showed that inhibiting NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways attenuated the phenotypes caused by MIR155HG overexpression. Moreover, cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays revealed overexpression of MIR155HG reduced the apotosis of GC cells induced by cisplatin and 5-FU. Together, our studies suggested that MIR155HG overexpression promoted proliferation, migration, and chemoresistance of GC cells. These results might provide a lncRNA-based target for GC treatment in future.

AKAP8L enhances the stemness and chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells by stabilizing SCD1 mRNA

Gastric cancer (GC) remains the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Chemoresistance is the major determinant of GC treatment failure. To explore the molecular mechanisms of GC chemoresistance, mass spectrometry was performed to detect the genes altered in expression between chemoresistant and chemosensitive GC. PRKA kinase anchor protein 8L (AKAP-8L) was identified as one of the top upregulated genes in chemoresistant GC tissues. Moreover, the higher AKAP-8L expression was associated with the lower survival rate in GC patients. Overexpression of AKAP-8L enhanced the GC cell stemness and chemoresistance of oxaliplatin in vivo and in vitro. AKAP-8L deficiency obtained the opposite results. Mechanistically, AKAP-8L interacted with Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) mRNA and IGF2BP1 protein, and regulated SCD1 mRNA stability via IGF2BP1-dependent manner. SCD1 played a critical role in mediating the function of AKAP-8L in GC cell stemness and chemoresistance. Clinically, AKAP-8L and SCD1 protein levels was positively associated with human GC chemoresistance. Taken together, our results demonstrated that AKAP-8L facilitates GC chemoresistance via regulating SCD1-mediated stemness of GC cells. AKAP8L may represent a novel therapeutic target to overcome GC chemoresistance.

Exosomal circ_0091741 promotes gastric cancer cell autophagy and chemoresistance via the miR-330-3p/TRIM14/Dvl2/Wnt/β-catenin axis.

The importance of cancer cell-released exosomes in the treatment of various cancers has been well-characterized. The current study aims to examine the potential biological functions of gastric cancer (GC) cell-released exosomes delivering a novel circRNA circ_0091741 in GC and the underlying molecular mechanism. Expression of circ_0091741 was examined in the GC cells, (OXA)-resistant HGC-27 (HGC-27/OXA) cells, and isolated exosomes, after which its downstream miRNA was analyzed. The role and mechanism of the circ_0091741 transmitted by GC cells-derived exosomes in GC cell autophagy and chemoresistance were assessed using various molecular biological methods. A mouse tumor xenograft model was prepared to discern the effect of circ_0091741 on tumorigenesis in vivo. GC cells and their exosomes were characterized by upregulated circ_0091741 expression. circ_0091741 transferred by GC cell-derived exosomes induced the autophagy and OXA resistance of GC cells. circ_0091741 obstructed the binding of miR-330-3p to TRIM14 and increased the expression of TRIM14. TRIM14 could cause activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by stabilizing Dvl2. By this mechanism, the autophagy and OXA resistance of GC cells were augmented. In vivo assay unfolded that orthotopic implantation of exosomal circ_0091741 overexpressed GC cells into nude mice enhanced tumorigenesis. In conclusion, our study emphasized the promotive role of exosomal circ_0091741 in autophagy and chemoresistance of GC cells, thus laying the basis for the development of novel therapeutic targets for GC treatment.

Restoration of miR-648 overcomes 5-FU-resistance through targeting ET-1 in gastric cancer cells in-vitro.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a peptide overexpressed in gastric cancer (GC) and linked to carcinogenesis and resistance to chemotherapy. Applying microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) to downregulate ET-1 and reverse resistance to commonly used chemotherapy drugs such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is practical. The current study sought to evaluate the miR-648 expression in GC and any plausibility of its replacement, either with or without the combination of chemo agents to downregulate ET-1 expression through interaction with its target gene. To this end, miR-648 and ET-1 expression levels were assessed in GC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues driven from 65 patients who had already undergone surgery, fifteen of which had received 5-FU before surgery. The impact of miR-648 and chemo agents on ET-1 expression was measured using qPCR and Western blotting. Further, an MTT assay was conducted to assess its association with cell viability. Ultimately, the association of miR-648 and ET-1 with clinicopathological characteristics was evaluated. The current study revealed that miR-648 was considerably down-regulated, while ET-1 was substantially up-regulated in patients with GC. The 5-FU caused a significant increase in miR-648 and reduced ET-1 expression. It was also determined that overexpression of miR-648 suppressed ET-1 production, notably when combined with 5-FU, leading to survival reduction. These results further showed that miR-648 replacement could sensitize chemoresistant GC cells. Besides, a significant association between ET-1 and miR-648 with clinicopathological features was discovered CONCLUSIONS: miR-648 replacement may serve as a potential oncosuppressive therapeutic approach that warrants further investigation to translate into an effective GC treatment.

MiR-522-3p Targets Transcription Factor 4 to Overcome Cisplatin Resistance of Gastric Cells.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignancy originating from gastric epithelial tissue. Chemoresistance to cisplatin (DDP) often leads to chemotherapy failure in GC. Previously, miR-522 was found to be associated with chemoresistance in GC cells. Thus, we attempted to clarify miR-522-3p's role underlying chemoresistance of GC cells. RT-qPCR measured the miR-522-3p levels in untreated and DDP-treated AGS cells. RT-qPCR and Western blotting detected transcription factor 4 (TCF4) mRNA and protein levels in GC cells. AGS and AGS/DDP cell proliferation were detected by the colony formation assay. Flow cytometry analysis detected AGS and AGS/DDP cell apoptosis. Bioinformatics and dual luciferase reporter assays predicted and verified the relationship between miR-522-3p and TCF4. Rescue experiments further clarified the regulatory patterns of miR-522-3p/TGF4 in GC cells. miR-522-3p presented a downregulation in GC cells and was positively affected by DDP. TCF4 presented elevation in GC cells and was negatively affected by DDP. Mechanistically, miR-522-3p targeted TCF4 to suppress TCF4 gene expression. miR-522-3p overexpression suppressed GC cell proliferation and resistance to DDP and GC cell apoptosis was facilitated. TCF4 overexpression facilitated GC cell proliferation and resistance to DDP while repressing GC cell apoptosis. TCF4 elevation rescued changes in GC cell proliferation, apoptosis, and chemoresistance due to miR-522-3p overexpression. To sum up, miR-522-3p suppresses GC cell malignancy and resistance to DDP via targeting TCF4. Our research may provide a new biomarker for GC diagnosis and a novel direction for GC chemotherapy.

Curcumin inhibits the cancer‑associated fibroblast‑derived chemoresistance of gastric cancer through the suppression of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway.

The present study aimed to investigate whether the Janus-activated kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway is a critical mechanism underlying the cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-induced chemoresistance of gastric cancer (GC). In addition, the present study tried to suggest a natural product to compromise the effects of CAF on the chemoresistance of GC. The results of cell proliferation assay revealed that the conditioned medium (CM) collected from CAFs further increased resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in GC cell lines. Secretome analysis revealed that the levels of several secreted proteins, including C-C motif chemokine ligand 2, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, were increased in the CM from CAFs co-cultured with cancer cells compared to CM from cancer cells. Western blot analysis revealed that CAFs activated the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in cancer cells. The experimental models revealed that curcumin abrogated the CAF-mediated activation of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in GC cells. In vivo data revealed the synergistic effects of curcumin with 5-FU treatment in xenograft GC tumors. These data strongly suggest that the suppression of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway counteracts the CAF-induced chemoresistance of GC cells. It is suggested that curcumin may be a suitable natural product which may be used to overcome chemoresistance by inhibiting the CAF-induced activation of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in GC.

A CGA/EGFR/GATA2 positive feedback circuit confers chemoresistance in gastric cancer.

De novo and acquired resistance are major impediments to the efficacy of conventional and targeted cancer therapy. In unselected gastric cancer (GC) patients with advanced disease, trials combining chemotherapy and an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody have been largely unsuccessful. In an effort to identify biomarkers of resistance so as to better select patients for such trials, we screened the secretome of chemotherapy-treated human GC cell lines. We found that levels of CGA, the α-subunit of glycoprotein hormones, were markedly increased in the conditioned media of chemoresistant GC cells, and CGA immunoreactivity was enhanced in GC tissues that progressed on chemotherapy. CGA levels in plasma increased in GC patients who received chemotherapy, and this increase was correlated with reduced responsiveness to chemotherapy and poor survival. Mechanistically, secreted CGA was found to bind to EGFR and activate EGFR signaling, thereby conferring a survival advantage to GC cells. N-glycosylation of CGA at Asn52 and Asn78 is required for its stability, secretion, and interaction with EGFR. GATA2 was found to activate CGA transcription, whose increase, in turn, induced the expression and phosphorylation of GATA2 in an EGFR-dependent manner, forming a positive feedback circuit that was initiated by GATA2 autoregulation upon sublethal exposure to chemotherapy. Based on this circuit, combination strategies involving anti-EGFR therapies or targeting CGA with microRNAs (miR-708-3p and miR-761) restored chemotherapy sensitivity. These findings identify a clinically actionable CGA/EGFR/GATA2 circuit and highlight CGA as a predictive biomarker and therapeutic target in chemoresistant GC.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase, FBXW5, promotes the migration and invasion of gastric cancer through the dysregulation of the Hippo pathway

F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 5 (FBXW5), with WD40 repeats, can bind to the PPxY sequence of the large tumor suppressor kinases 1/2 (LATS1/2) kinase domain, resulting in ubiquitination. Ubiquitination and the subsequent degradation of LATS1/2 abrogate the Hippo pathway and worsen gastric cancer (GC). However, the effects and molecular mechanisms of FBXW5 in GC remain unexplored. To elucidate the clinical significance of FBXW5, immunohistochemistry was conducted to reveal the positive correlation between FBXW5 expression and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001) and TNM stage (training cohort: p = 0.018; validation cohort: p = 0.001). Further, patients with high FBXW5 expression were found to have poor prognosis (training cohort: log-rank p = 0.020; validation cohort: log-rank p = 0.025). Cell experiments revealed the promoting effects of FBXW5 on the proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and chemoresistance of GC cells. Blocking LATS1-YAP1 leads to the loss of FBXW5-mediated regulation of the Hippo pathway and partial functions. Further, co-immunoprecipitation and in vivo ubiquitination assays revealed the interaction between FBXW5 and LATS1, which promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of LATS1. Based on mouse xenograft assays, FBXW5 silencing attenuated the growth of subcutaneous tumor xenografts. Altogether, FBXW5 was found to inactivate the Hippo signaling pathway by enhancing LATS1 ubiquitination and degradation, which promoted the invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance of GC cells.

Abstract P4-07-23: Piezo1 is associated with worse prognosis along with promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition and hypoxia as well as less anti-cancer immune cells in hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast cancer

Abstract Introduction: Piezo1 is a transmembrane protein, forming a mechano-sensitive ion channel. Piezo channels play an important role in mechano-sensing and mechano-transduction. Stretch activation of Piezo channels lead to influx of cations and activation of additional Ca2+ channels and depolarization. There are early evidences that Piezo1 channel signaling alters cancer cell behavior. It promotes migration in breast cancer cells, migration and chemo-resistance in gastric cancer cells, invasion of osteosarcoma cells, and enhances cell survival in synovial sarcoma cells. Contrary, lower level of Piezo1 associates with more invasive phenotype in lung cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate clinical relevance of Piezo1 expression in breast cancer. Methods: In order to investigate Piezo1 clinical relevance in breast cancer patients, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) breast cancer cohort as a testing cohort, and GSE3494 as validation cohort. Piezo1 expression levels were compared among different stages as well as breast cancer subtypes. Patients’ survival was compared based on Piezo1 expression in each subtype. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and cibersort algorithms were used to evaluate pathways and infiltrating immune cells associated with PIEZO1 expression. Results: There was no significant difference in PIEZO1 expressions based on AJCC stage (P=0.258). PIEZO1 expression was significantly higher in the hormone receptor (HR)-negative (both estrogen receptor (ER)- and progesterone receptor (PR)-negative) tumors (P&amp;lt;0.001), whereas, there was no significant difference between HER2-positive and -negative tumors (P=0.279). When we compared patient survival based on PIEZO1 expression, there was no significant difference in the whole breast cancer cohort (disease-free survival (DFS); P=0.201, overall survival (OS); P=0.694). On the other hand, high PIEZO1 expression showed significantly worse prognosis for both DFS (P=0.033) and OS (P=0.002) in the HR-negative cohort, but not in HR-positive cohort (DFS; P=0.995, OS; P=0.083). These findings were validated in validation cohort GSE3494, in which PIEZO1 expression was higher in the HR-negative patients as compared to its counterpart (P=0.006) and higher PIEZO1 showed worse prognosis in the HR-negative cohort (P=0.003). As possible mechanisms, GSEA revealed that PIEZO1 high expression tumor was associated with cancer aggressiveness characteristics, such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) (P&amp;lt;0.001) and hypoxia (P&amp;lt;0.001) in HR-negative breast cancer. Further, PIEZO1 high expressing tumor has less anti-cancer immune cells, including activated CD4+ memory T cells (P=0.020) and CD8+ T cells (P=0.002). Conclusion: We found that PIEZO1 high expression was associated with poor prognosis in HR-negative breast cancer patients. It may be due to promoted EMT and hypoxic condition, as well as less immunogenic characteristics. Citation Format: Eriko Katsuta, Kazuaki Takabe, Mateusz Opyrchal. Piezo1 is associated with worse prognosis along with promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition and hypoxia as well as less anti-cancer immune cells in hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-07-23.