Flex-Het drugs induce apoptosis in multiple types of cancer cells, with little effect on normal cells. This apoptosis occurs through the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway accompanied by generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The objective of this study was to determine if direct or indirect targeting of mitochondria is responsible for the differential sensitivities of cancer and normal cells to Flex-Hets. Mitochondrial effects and apoptosis were measured using JC-1 and Annexin V-FITC dyes with flow cytometry. Bcl-2, Bcl-x L , and Bax were measured by Western blot. Flex-Hets induced mitochondrial swelling and apoptosis in ovarian cancer cell lines but had minimal to no effects in a variety of normal cell cultures, including human ovarian surface epithelium. Effects on inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) potential were variable and did not occur in normal cells. Two different antioxidants, administered at concentrations shown to quench intracellular and mitochondrial ROS, did not alter Flex-Het -induced mitochondrial swelling, loss of IMM potential, or apoptosis. Inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide also did not prevent FlexHet mitochondrial or apoptosis effects. Bcl-2 and Bcl-x L levels were decreased in an ovarian cancer cell line but increased in a normal culture, whereas Bax expression was unaffected by Flex-Hets treatment. In conclusion, ROS seems to be a consequence rather than a cause of mitochondrial swelling. The differential induction of apoptosis in cancer versus normal cells by Flex-Hets involves direct targeting of mitochondria associated with alterations in the balance of Bcl-2 proteins. This mechanism does not require IMM potential, ROS generation, or protein synthesis.

Objective: To identify candidate biomarkers correlated with clinical prognosis of patients with bladder cancer (BC).Methods: Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was applied to build a co-expression network to identify hub genes correlated with tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging of BC patients. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted to functionally annotate the hub genes. Protein-protein interaction network analysis of hub genes was performed to identify the interactions among the hub genes. Survival analyses were conducted to characterize the role of hub genes on the survival of BC patients. Gene set enrichment analyses were conducted to find the potential mechanisms involved in the tumor proliferation promoted by hub genes.Results: Based on the results of topological overlap measure based clustering and the inclusion criteria, top 50 hub genes were identified. Hub genes were enriched in cell proliferation associated gene ontology terms (mitotic sister chromatid segregation, mitotic cell cycle and, cell cycle, etc.) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways (cell cycle, Oocyte meiosis, etc.). 17 hub genes were found to interact with ≥5 of the hub genes. Survival analysis of hub genes suggested that lower expression of MMP11, COL5A2, CDC25B, TOP2A, CENPF, CDCA3, TK1, TPX2, CDCA8, AEBP1, and FOXM1were associated with better overall survival of BC patients. BC samples with higher expression of hub genes were enriched in gene sets associated with P53 pathway, apical junction, mitotic spindle, G2M checkpoint, and myogenesis, etc.Conclusions: We identified several candidate biomarkers correlated with the TNM staging and overall survival of BC patients. Accordingly, they might be used as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets with clinical utility.

Transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) functions as a Mg2+/Ca2+-permeable channel fused with a kinase domain and regulates various physical processes and diseases. However, its effects on pathogenesis of human bladder cancer (BCa) has not been clarified yet. Our microarray analysis has suggested that calcium signaling pathway is connected with bladder cancer via MAPK pathway. Therefore, we aim to investigate the mechanism of TRPM7 in BCa tumorigenesis by using BCa tissues compared with normal bladder epithelium tissues, as well as using distinct BCa cell lines (EJ, 5637 and T24). We observed increased TRPM7 expression and dysregulation of proteins involved in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in BCa tissues. Moreover, knockdown of TRPM7 in BCa cells reversed the EMT status, accompanied by increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, TRPM7 deficiency could inhibit BCa cell proliferation, migration and invasion, as well as induce p-ERK1/2 and suppress PI3K/AKT at the protein level. Downregulation of TRPM7 promoted cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase and apoptosis in vitro, which could be recovered by pre-treatment with U0126 to deactivate ERK1/2, suggesting a close correlation between TRPM7 and the MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, a NOD/SCID mouse model transplanted using the BCa cells was established, revealing delayed tumor growth by reduced protein activity and mRNA transcription of TRPM7 in vivo. Our results suggested TRPM7 might be essential for BCa tumorigenesis by interfering BCa cell proliferation, motility and apoptosis.

Potential chemopreventive and therapeutic value of the lead Flexible Heteroarotinoid (Flex-Het), SHetA2, was indicated by growth inhibition of multiple cancer cell lines. The objective of this study was to evaluate the SHetA2 mechanism and in vivo activity in kidney cancer. SHetA2 induced apoptosis in the Caki-1 kidney cancer cell line through reduction of Bcl-2 protein and induction of PARP-1 and caspase 3 cleavages, whereas normal kidney epithelial cells exhibited resistance. Both normal and cancerous cells underwent G 1 arrest and loss of Cyclin D1. Tubule differentiation was induced in organotypic cultures and xenograft tumors in association with increases in E-Cadherin mRNA and protein expression. SHetA2 repressed activity of nuclear factor-κB, a transcription factor that regulates apoptosis, Bcl-2, growth, Cyclin D1, differentiation, and E-Cadherin in the opposite manner as SHetA2. Glutathione binding and generation of reactive oxygen species were not required for these activities. Oral SHetA2 inhibited growth in one of two renal cancer xenograft models without causing mortality or weight loss. Structure function analysis of related Flex-Hets for potential improvement of SHetA2 pharmaceutical properties showed that compounds with increased hydrophilicity slightly reduced the growth inhibition efficacy, but retained the differential effect on cancer over normal cells.Flex-Hets and metabolites were not mutagenic in the Ames test. In conclusion, SHetA2 regulates growth, differentiation, and apoptosis in kidney cancer cells through multiple molecular events downstream of nuclear factor-κB repression. Increasing the hydrophilicity of Flex-Hets does not attenuate the differential effect on cancer cells over normal cells, thus offering alternatives for improvement of therapeutic value.

Emerging evidence demonstrates that competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) hypothesis has played a role in molecular biological mechanisms of cancer occurrence and development. But the effect of ceRNA network in bladder cancer (BC), especially lncRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA regulatory network of BC, was not completely expounded. By means of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we compared the expression of RNA sequencing (RNA‐Seq) data between 19 normal bladder tissue and 414 primary bladder tumours. Then, weighted gene co‐expression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to analyse the correlation between two sets of genes with traits. Interactions between miRNAs, lncRNAs and target mRNAs were predicted by MiRcode, miRDB, starBase, miRTarBase and TargetScan. Next, by univariate Cox regression and LASSO regression analysis, the 86 mRNAs obtained by prediction were used to construct a prognostic model which contained 4 mRNAs (ACTC1 + FAM129A + OSBPL10 + EPHA2). Then, by the 4 mRNAs in the prognostic model, a ceRNA regulatory network with 48 lncRNAs, 14 miRNAs and 4 mRNAs was constructed. To sum up, the ceRNA network can further explore gene regulation and predict the prognosis of BC patients.

Current evidence suggests that laparoscopic pyelolithotomy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy are effective and safe for large renal pelvic calculi but laparoscopic pyelolithotomy seems to be more advantageous. However, given the inherent limitations of the included studies, results must be further confirmed in high quality randomized, controlled trials.

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An organotypic model of endometrial carcinogenesis and chemoprevention was developed in which normal endometrial organotypic cultures exposed to the carcinogen, DMBA (7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene), developed a cancerous phenotype in the absence, but not presence of subsequent treatment with a flexible heteroarotinoid (Flex-Het), called SHetA2. A discriminant function based on karyometric features of cellular nuclei and an agar clonogenic assay confirmed these histologic changes. Interpretation of microarray data using an internal standard approach identified major pathways associated with carcinogenesis and chemoprevention governed by c-myc, p53, TNFα and Jun genes. Cluster analysis of functional associations of hypervariable genes demonstrated that carcinogenesis is accompanied by a stimulating association between a module of genes that includes tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), c-myc, and epidermal growth factor-receptor (EGF-R) and a module that includes insulin-like growth factor I-receptor (IGF-IR), p53, and Jun genes. Two secreted proteins involved in these systems, tenascin C and inhibin A, were validated at the protein level. Tenascin C is an EGF-R ligand, and therefore may contribute to the increased EGF-R involvement in carcinogenesis. The known roles of the identified molecular systems in DMBA and endometrial carcinogenesis and chemoprevention supports the validity of this model and the potential clinical utility of SHetA2 in chemoprevention.