Previous studies show that transient axonal glycoprotein-1, a ligand of amyloid precursor pro-tein, increases the secretion of amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain and is involved in apoptosis in Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we examined the effects of transient axonal glyco-protein-1 on U251 glioma cells. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay showed that transient axonal glycoprotein-1 did not inhibit the proliferation of U251 cells, but promoted cell viability. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay showed that transient axonal glycoprotein-1 did not induce U251 cell apoptosis. Real-time PCR revealed that transient axonal glycoprotein-1 substantially upregulated levels of amyloid precursor protein intracellular C-terminal domain, and p53 and epidermal growth factor recep-tor mRNA expression. Thus, transient axonal glycoprotein-1 increased apoptosis-related gene expression in U251 cells without inducing apoptosis. Instead, transient axonal glycoprotein-1 promoted the proliferation of these glioma cells.

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) regulate cellular homeostatic processes. EGFR activates downstream signaling cascades that promote tumor cell survival, proliferation and migration. Dysregulation of EGFR signaling as a consequence of overexpression, amplification and mutation of the EGFR gene occurs frequently in several types of cancers and many become dependent on EGFR signaling to maintain their malignant phenotypes. Consequently, concerted efforts have been mounted to develop therapeutic agents and strategies to effectively inhibit EGFR. However, limited therapeutic beneifts to cancer patients have been derived from EGFR-targeted therapies. A well-documented obstacle to improved patient survival is the presence of EGFR-inhibitor resistant tumor cell variants within heterogeneous tumor cell masses. Here, we summarize the mechanisms by which tumors resist EGFR-targeted therapies and highlight the emerging role of microRNAs (miRs) as downstream effector molecules utilized by EGFR to promote tumor initiation, progression and that play a role in resistance to EGFR inhibitors. We also examine evidence supporting the utility of miRs as predictors of response to targeted therapies and novel therapeutic agents to circumvent EGFR-inhibitor resistance mechanisms.

Paraneoplastic Leukocytosis and Thrombocytosis as Prognostic Biomarkers in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

采用RNA干扰技术抑制A549细胞表皮生长因子受体表达

AIM: To investigate the biological features of A549 cells in which epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors expression were suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi). METHODS: A549 cells were transfected using short small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) formulated with Lipofectamine 2000. The EGF receptor numbers were determined by Western blotting and flowcytometry. The antiproliferative effects of sequence specific double stranded RNA(dsRNA) were assessed using cell count, colony assay and scratch assay. The chemosensitivity of transfected cells to cisplatin was measured by MTT. RESULTS: Sequence specific dsRNA-EGFR down-regulated EGF receptor expression dramatically. Compared with the control group, dsRNA-EGFR reduced the cell number by 85.0 %,decreased the colonies by 63.3 %, inhibited the migration by 87.2 %, and increased the sensitivity of A549 to cisplatin by four-fold. CONCLUSION: Sequence specific dsRNA-EGFR were capable of suppressing EGF receptor expression, hence significantly inhibiting cellular proliferation and motility, and enhancing chemosensitivity of A549 cells to cisplatin. The successful application of dsRNA-EGFR for inhibition of proliferation in EGF receptor overexpressing cells can help extend the list of available therapeutic modalities in the treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).

Objective Less than a decade ago, ER-positive and PgR-positive diagnostic criteria decrease from 10%to 1%. Up to 20%of current immunohistochemical determinations of ER and PgR worldwide may be inaccu-rate. It is necessary to study patients whose tumors are between luminal A (LABC) and triple-negative (TNBC) breast cancer. Methods Survival analysis grouping by the level of positive hormone receptor, CK5/6 and EGFR, and en-docrine therapy was carried out in 206 patients whose tumors were junction zone between LABC and TNBC. Re-sults There were no significant differences between the low-positive (1%-9%) HR group and positive HR (10%-19%) group in overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). There was an apparent difference between the nor-mal-like group and basal-like group in OS and DFS, and between the patients with and without endocrine therapy. There were significant differences between death and tumor progression for EGFR and CK5/6, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy. Conclusions We conclude that EGFR and CK5/6 are better prognostic indicators than the lev-el of positive HR in patients whose tumors are junction zone at the junction zone between LABC and TNBC. En-docrine therapy can be highly beneficial to these patients regardless of the positive HR level.