The inflammatory chemokine (C–C motif) ligand 4 (CCL4) plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of cancer. In particular, higher serum CCL4 levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are associated with a more advanced stage of disease. OSCC accounts for approximately 95% of oral cancer in Taiwan and has a poor prognosis, due to aggressive local invasion and metastasis, leading to recurrence. OSCC spreads preferentially through lymphatic vessels and has the propensity to metastasize to the cervical lymph nodes even in the early stage of disease. Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) is an essential regulator of lymphangiogenesis. In particular, VEGF-C is specific to lymphatic vessel development, and VEGF-C expression levels have been found to directly correlate with lymph node metastasis in OSCC. However, it is unclear as to whether CCL4 correlates with VEGF-C expression and lymphangiogenesis in OSCC. We found that CCL4 increased VEGF-C expression and promoted lymphangiogenesis in oral cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. miR-195-3p mimic reversed CCL4-enhanced VEGF-C expression. CCL4 stimulation of oral cancer cells augmented JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation. Thus, CCL4 may be a new molecular therapeutic target for inhibition of lymphangiogenesis and metastasis in OSCC.
Resistin is a recently discovered adipocyte-secreting adipokine, which may play a critical role in modulating cancer pathogenesis. Chondrosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor known to frequently metastasize; however, the role of resistin in the metastasis of human chondrosarcoma is largely unknown. Here, we found that the expression of resistin was higher in chondrosarcoma biopsy tissues than in normal cartilage. Moreover, treatment with resistin increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 expression and promoted cell migration in human chondrosarcoma cells. Co-transfection with microRNA (miR)-519d mimic resulted in reversed resistin-mediated cell migration and MMP-2 expression. Additionally, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and p38 inhibitors or siRNAs reduced the resistin-increased cell migration and miR-519d suppression, and inhibition of resistin expression resulted in suppression of MMP-2 expression and lung metastasis in vivo. Taken together, our results indicate that resistin promotes chondrosarcoma metastasis and MMP-2 expression through activation of the AMPK/p38 signaling pathway and down-regulation of miR-519d expression. Therefore, resistin may represent a potential novel molecular therapeutic target in chondrosarcoma metastasis.
In recent years, much research has focused on the role of angiogenesis in osteosarcoma, which occurs predominantly in adolescents and young adults. The vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) pathway is the key regulator of angiogenesis and in osteosarcoma. VEGF-A expression has been recognized as a prognostic marker in angiogenesis. Aberrant WNT1-inducible signaling pathway protein-1 (WISP-1) expression is associated with various cancers. However, the function of WISP-1 in osteosarcoma angiogenesis is poorly understood. We demonstrate a positive correlation between WISP-1 and VEGF-A expression in human osteosarcoma. Moreover, we show that WISP-1 promotes VEGF-A expression in human osteosarcoma cells, subsequently inducing human endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) migration and tube formation. The focal adhesion kinase (FAK), Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK), and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α signaling pathways were activated after WISP-1 stimulation, while FAK, JNK, and HIF-1α inhibitors or small interfering RNA (siRNA) abolished WISP-1-induced VEGF-A expression and angiogenesis. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed down-regulation of microRNA-381 (miR-381) in WISP-1-induced VEGF-A expression and angiogenesis. Our findings reveal that WISP-1 enhances VEGF-A expression and angiogenesis through the FAK/JNK/HIF-1α signaling pathways, as well as via down-regulation of miR-381 expression. WISP-1 may be a promising target in osteosarcoma angiogenesis.
In Taiwan, oral cancer has causally been associated with environmental carcinogens. CCL4 (C-C chemokine ligand 4), a macrophage inflammatory protein with a key role in inflammation and immune-regulation, was implicated in carcinogenesis by facilitating instability in the tumor environment. The purpose of this study was to identify gene polymorphisms of CCL4 specific to patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics. A total of 2,053 participants, including 1192 healthy people and 861 patients with oral cancer, were recruited for this study. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the CCL4 gene were analyzed by a real-time PCR. We found that the T/T homozygotes of CCL4 rs1634507 G/T polymorphism and the GG haplotype of 2 CCL4 SNPs (rs1634507 and rs10491121) combined were associated with oral-cancer susceptibility. In addition, TA haplotype significantly decreased the risks for oral cancer by 0.118 fold. Among 1420 smokers, CCL4 polymorphisms carriers with the betel-nut chewing habit had a 15.476–20.247-fold greater risk of having oral cancer compared to CCL4 wild-type (WT) carriers without the betel-nut chewing habit. Finally, patients with oral cancer who had A/G heterozygotes of CCL4 rs10491121 A/G polymorphism showed a lower risk for an advanced tumor size (> T2) (p=0.046), compared to those patients with AA homozygotes. Our results suggest that the CCL4 rs1634507 SNP have potential predictive significance in oral carcinogenesis. Gene-environment interactions of CCL4 polymorphisms might influence oral-cancer susceptibility. CCL4 rs10491121 may be a factor to predict the tumor size in OSCC patients.
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