bims-instec Biomed News
on Intestinal stem cells and chemoresistance in colon cancer and intestinal regeneration
Issue of 2021‒08‒15
eighteen papers selected by
Maria-Virginia Giolito
IRFAC/UMR-S1113 INSERM
  1. Recombinant soluble thrombomodulin accelerates epithelial stem cell proliferation in mouse intestinal organoids and promotes the mucosal healing in colitis.
  2. The HSP90/R2TP assembly chaperone promotes cell proliferation in the intestinal epithelium.
  3. Targeting hexokinase 2 increases the sensitivity of oxaliplatin by Twist1 in colorectal cancer.
  4. MiRNA-Wnt signaling regulatory network in colorectal cancer.
  5. NDRG1 enhances the sensitivity of cetuximab by modulating EGFR trafficking in colorectal cancer.
  6. TCF-1 controls Treg cell functions that regulate inflammation, CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity and severity of colon cancer.
  7. Targeting NUFIP1 Suppresses Growth and Induces Senescence of Colorectal Cancer Cells.
  8. Ursodeoxycholic acid suppresses the malignant progression of colorectal cancer through TGR5-YAP axis.
  9. Toll-like receptor 4 is a master regulator for colorectal cancer growth under high-fat diet by programming cancer metabolism.
  10. Energy Metabolic Plasticity of Colorectal Cancer Cells as a Determinant of Tumor Growth and Metastasis.
  11. Runt related transcription factor-1 plays a central role in vessel co-option of colorectal cancer liver metastases.
  12. Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis promotes intestinal inflammation and malignancy by inhibiting exosomes-packaged miR-149-3p.
  13. Yes-associated protein expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.
  14. Mutant APC promotes tumor immune evasion via PD-L1 in colorectal cancer.
  15. A Crosstalk between Diet, Microbiome and microRNA in Epigenetic Regulation of Colorectal Cancer.
  16. IFNγ signaling integrity in colorectal cancer immunity and immunotherapy.
  17. Identification of prognostic immune-related gene signature associated with tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer.
  18. Circadian clock, carcinogenesis, chronochemotherapy connections.
  1. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Aug 09.
    Recombinant soluble thrombomodulin accelerates epithelial stem cell proliferation in mouse intestinal organoids and promotes the mucosal healing in colitis.
    Arong Gaowa, Eun Jeong Park, Eiji Kawamoto, Yan Qin, Motomu Shimaoka.
      BACKGROUND AND AIM: Epithelial regeneration, a critical step for the mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is tightly regulated by stem cells. Therefore, identification of the specific factors that induce stem cell proliferation could contribute to the development of effective strategies for treating IBD. Recombinant soluble thrombomodulin (rsTM) has previously been shown to promote cell proliferation in skin and corneal wound healing in murine models, but its effects on intestinal epithelial cell proliferation remains unclear.METHODS: Mouse intestinal organoids and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model were used to assess the effects of rsTM on proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells. The size and budding morphologies of organoids were studied by confocal microscopy. The gene expression levels were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and immunofluorescence analysis. The effects of rsTM on DSS-induced colitis was investigated by evaluating body weight changes, colon length, histological score, and survival rate.
    RESULTS: rsTM markedly stimulated the growth of intestinal organoids, thereby increasing the surface areas and budding phenotypes of the organoids. rsTM also significantly upregulated the gene expression of intestinal stem cell- and epithelial cell-specific markers in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the treatment with high concentrations of rsTM significantly improved the recovery of body weight, histological outcomes, colon length shortening, and prolonged the survival of mice with colitis.
    CONCLUSIONS: rsTM promotes intestinal stem cell proliferation in intestinal organoids and enhances the mucosal healing during recovery phase in DSS-induced colitis.
    Keywords:  Epithelial regeneration; Inflammatory bowel disease; Mucosal healing; Organoid; Thrombomodulin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jgh.15656
  2. Nat Commun. 2021 08 10. 12(1): 4810
    The HSP90/R2TP assembly chaperone promotes cell proliferation in the intestinal epithelium.
    Chloé Maurizy, Claire Abeza, Bénédicte Lemmers, Monica Gabola, Ciro Longobardi, Valérie Pinet, Marina Ferrand, Conception Paul, Julie Bremond, Francina Langa, François Gerbe, Philippe Jay, Céline Verheggen, Nicola Tinari, Dominique Helmlinger, Rossano Lattanzio, Edouard Bertrand, Michael Hahne, Bérengère Pradet-Balade.
      The R2TP chaperone cooperates with HSP90 to integrate newly synthesized proteins into multi-subunit complexes, yet its role in tissue homeostasis is unknown. Here, we generated conditional, inducible knock-out mice for Rpap3 to inactivate this core component of R2TP in the intestinal epithelium. In adult mice, Rpap3 invalidation caused destruction of the small intestinal epithelium and death within 10 days. Levels of R2TP substrates decreased, with strong effects on mTOR, ATM and ATR. Proliferative stem cells and progenitors deficient for Rpap3 failed to import RNA polymerase II into the nucleus and they induced p53, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Post-mitotic, differentiated cells did not display these alterations, suggesting that R2TP clients are preferentially built in actively proliferating cells. In addition, high RPAP3 levels in colorectal tumors from patients correlate with bad prognosis. Here, we show that, in the intestine, the R2TP chaperone plays essential roles in normal and tumoral proliferation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24792-4
  3. J Cell Mol Med. 2021 Aug 10.
    Targeting hexokinase 2 increases the sensitivity of oxaliplatin by Twist1 in colorectal cancer.
    Bo Zhang, Sze-Hoi Chan, Xue-Qi Liu, Yuan-Yuan Shi, Zhao-Xia Dong, Xin-Rong Shao, Li-Yuan Zheng, Zhi-Ying Mai, Tian-Liang Fang, Li-Zhi Deng, Di-Sheng Zhou, Shu-Na Chen, Miao Li, Xing-Ding Zhang.
      Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most malignant tumour worldwide, with high mortality and recurrence. Chemoresistance is one of the main factors leading to metastasis and poor prognosis in advanced CRC patients. By analysing the Gene Expression Omnibus data set, we found higher hexokinase 2 (HK2) expression levels in patients with metastatic CRC than in those with primary CRC. Moreover, we observed higher enrichment in oxaliplatin resistance-related gene sets in metastatic CRC than in primary CRC. However, the underlying relationship has not yet been elucidated. In our study, HK2 expression was significantly elevated in CRC patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed multi-drug resistance and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathways related to high HK2 expression. Our results showed that knockdown of HK2 significantly inhibited vimentin and Twist1 expression and promoted TJP1 and E-cadherin expression in CRC cells. Additionally, transcriptional and enzymatic inhibition of HK2 by 3-bromopyruvate (3-bp) impaired oxaliplatin resistance in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, HK2 interacts with and stabilized Twist1 by preventing its ubiquitin-mediated degradation, which is related to oxaliplatin resistance, in CRC cells. Overexpression of Twist1 reduced the apoptosis rate by HK2 knockdown in CRC cells. Collectively, we discovered that HK2 is a crucial regulator that mediates oxaliplatin resistance through Twist1. These findings identify HK2 and Twist1 as promising drug targets for CRC chemoresistance.
    Keywords:  Twist1; chemoresistance; colorectal cancer; hexokinase 2
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.16842
  4. J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 2021 Aug 12. e22883
    MiRNA-Wnt signaling regulatory network in colorectal cancer.
    Meisam Jafarzadeh, Bahram M Soltani.
      Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the common malignancies worldwide and the Wnt signaling pathway is recognized as the main disrupted pathway in this malignancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recognized to contribute to the pathogenesis of CRC by triggering or impeding the Wnt signaling pathway. In addition, transcriptional regulation of miRNAs by canonical Wnt signaling also participates in CRC cell progression. In this review, we present comprehensive literature of the existing data on the interaction of miRNAs and Wnt signaling that could be useful in future studies in the field of CRC management.
    Keywords:  Wnt signaling; cancer management; colorectal cancer; mcroRNA
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jbt.22883
  5. Oncogene. 2021 Aug 12.
    NDRG1 enhances the sensitivity of cetuximab by modulating EGFR trafficking in colorectal cancer.
    Guang Yang, Ling Huang, Hongtao Jia, Batuer Aikemu, Sen Zhang, Yanfei Shao, Hiju Hong, Galiya Yesseyeva, Chenxing Wang, Shuchun Li, Jing Sun, Minhua Zheng, Junjun Ma.
      N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) is a key regulator that interacts with many classic tumor signaling pathways, including some molecules downstream of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, whether NDRG1 is involved in the mechanism of resistance to cetuximab (CTX), the first monoclonal antibody targeting the EGFR has not been reported. Here, we found that NDRG1 enhanced the sensitivity of CTX in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines. Afterwards, we determined the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon. We demonstrated that NDRG1 inhibited the expression of EGFR; blocked EGFR phosphorylation and reduced the EGFR distribution in the cell membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus. And then, NDRG1 suppressed the EGFR downstream signaling: RAS/RAF/ERK and PI3k/AKT/mTOR pathways. Moreover, we discovered that NDRG1 attenuated the endocytosis and degradation of EGFR induced by caveolin-1 (Cav1). Additionally, our findings were further observed in an animal model and human tissues. Our results represent a potentially significant discovery that explains the mechanisms of NDRG1 in CTX resistance. NDRG1 could be a promising biomarker to predict optimum responses to CTX, and a key target to enhance CTX activity in the treatment of metastatic CRC (mCRC).
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01962-8
  6. Nat Immunol. 2021 Aug 12.
    TCF-1 controls Treg cell functions that regulate inflammation, CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity and severity of colon cancer.
    Abu Osman, Bingyu Yan, Ying Li, Kevin D Pavelko, Jasmine Quandt, Abdulrahman Saadalla, Mahendra Pal Singh, Majid Kazemian, Fotini Gounari, Khashayarsha Khazaie.
      The transcription factor TCF-1 is essential for the development and function of regulatory T (Treg) cells; however, its function is poorly understood. Here, we show that TCF-1 primarily suppresses transcription of genes that are co-bound by Foxp3. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis identified effector memory T cells and central memory Treg cells with differential expression of Klf2 and memory and activation markers. TCF-1 deficiency did not change the core Treg cell transcriptional signature, but promoted alternative signaling pathways whereby Treg cells became activated and gained gut-homing properties and characteristics of the TH17 subset of helper T cells. TCF-1-deficient Treg cells strongly suppressed T cell proliferation and cytotoxicity, but were compromised in controlling CD4+ T cell polarization and inflammation. In mice with polyposis, Treg cell-specific TCF-1 deficiency promoted tumor growth. Consistently, tumor-infiltrating Treg cells of patients with colorectal cancer showed lower TCF-1 expression and increased TH17 expression signatures compared to adjacent normal tissue and circulating T cells. Thus, Treg cell-specific TCF-1 expression differentially regulates TH17-mediated inflammation and T cell cytotoxicity, and can determine colorectal cancer outcome.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-00987-1
  7. Front Oncol. 2021 ;11 681425
    Targeting NUFIP1 Suppresses Growth and Induces Senescence of Colorectal Cancer Cells.
    Aling Shen, Meizhu Wu, Liya Liu, Youqin Chen, Xiaoping Chen, Mingkai Zhuang, Qiurong Xie, Ying Cheng, Jiapeng Li, Zhiqing Shen, Lihui Wei, Jianfeng Chu, Thomas J Sferra, Xiuli Zhang, Nanhui Xu, Li Li, Jun Peng, Fenglin Chen.
      NUFIP1 is an RNA-binding protein that interacts with fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) in the messenger ribonucleoprotein particle (mRNP). We previously showed that NUFIP1 was upregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC), but how the protein may contribute to the disease and patient prognosis is unknown. Here we combine database analysis, microarray, quantitative PCR, and immunohistochemistry of patients' samples to confirm our previous findings on NUFIP1 overexpression in CRC, and to reveal that increased expression of NUFIP1 in CRC tissues correlated with worse overall, recurrence-free, event-free and disease-free survival in patients, as well as with more advanced CRC clinicopathological stage. Loss of function analysis demonstrated that NUFIP1 knockdown suppressed cell growth in vitro and in vivo, inhibited cell viability and survival, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro, as well as up-regulated Bax and down-regulated Bcl-2 protein expression. In addition, as a natural anticancer triterpene from various fruits and vegetables, ursolic acid (UA) treatment suppressed cell proliferation, down-regulated NUFIP1 protein expression, and further enhanced the effects of NUFIP1 knockdown in CRC cells in vitro. NUFIP1 knockdown up-regulated the expression of 136 proteins, down-regulated the expression of 41 proteins, and enriched multiple signaling pathways including the senescence-associated heterochromatin foci (SAHF) pathway. Furthermore, NUFIP1 knockdown enhanced the expression of senescence-associated-β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), the SAHF markers HP1γ and trimethylation (H3k9me3), and the senescence-related protein HMGA2, as well as both p53 and its downstream p21 protein expression. Our findings suggest that NUFIP1 is overexpressed in CRC and correlates with disease progression and poor patient survival. NUFIP1 may exert oncogenic effects partly by altering senescence. UA may show potential to treat CRC by down-regulating NUFIP1.
    Keywords:  NUFIP1 knockdown suppresses tumor growth; colorectal cancer; growth; senescence; ursolic acid
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.681425
  8. Cell Death Discov. 2021 Aug 07. 7(1): 207
    Ursodeoxycholic acid suppresses the malignant progression of colorectal cancer through TGR5-YAP axis.
    Huan Zhang, Huanji Xu, Chenliang Zhang, Qiulin Tang, Feng Bi.
      The Hippo/YAP pathway plays an important role in the development of cancers. Previous studies have reported that bile acids can activate YAP (Yes Associated Protein) to promote tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a long-established old drug used for cholestasis treatment. So far, the effect of UDCA on YAP signaling in colorectal cancer (CRC) is not well defined. This study means to explore relationship of UDCA and YAP in CRC. UDCA suppressed YAP signaling by activating the membrane G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor (TGR5). TGR5 mainly regulated cAMP/PKA signaling pathway to inhibit RhoA activity, thereby suppressing YAP signaling. Moreover, the restoration of YAP expression alleviated the inhibitory effect of UDCA on CRC cell proliferation. In AOM/DSS-induced CRC model, UDCA inhibited tumor growth in a concentration-dependent manner and decreased expression of YAP and Ki67. UDCA plays a distinguished role in regulating YAP signaling and CRC growth from the primary bile acids and partial secondary bile acids, demonstrating the importance of maintaining normal intestinal bile acid metabolism in cancer patients. It also presents a potential therapeutic intervention for CRC.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-021-00589-8
  9. Cell Death Dis. 2021 Aug 12. 12(8): 791
    Toll-like receptor 4 is a master regulator for colorectal cancer growth under high-fat diet by programming cancer metabolism.
    Xianjing Hu, Sarwat Fatima, Minting Chen, Keyang Xu, Chunhua Huang, Rui-Hong Gong, Tao Su, Hoi Leong Xavier Wong, Zhaoxiang Bian, Hiu Yee Kwan.
      Although high-fat diet (HFD) has been implicated in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), the critical signaling molecule that mediates the cancer growth is not well-defined. Identifying the master regulator that controls CRC growth under HFD can facilitate the development of effective therapeutics for the cancer treatment. In this study, the global lipidomics and RNA sequencing data show that, in the tumor tissues of CRC-bearing mouse models, HFD not only increases tumor weight, but also the palmitic acid level and TLR4 expression, which are reduced when HFD is replaced by control diet. These concomitant changes suggest the roles of palmitic acid and TLR4 in CRC growth. Subsequent studies show that palmitic acid regulates TLR4 expression in PU.1-dependent manner. Knockdown of PU.1 or mutations of PU.1-binding site on TLR4 promoter abolish the palmitic acid-increased TLR4 expression. The role of palmitic acid/PU.1/TLR4 axis in CRC growth is further examined in cell model and animal models that are fed either HFD or palmitic acid-rich diet. More importantly, iTRAQ proteomics data show that knockdown of TLR4 changes the metabolic enzyme profiles in the tumor tissues, which completely abolish the HFD-enhanced ATP production and cancer growth. Our data clearly demonstrate that TLR4 is a master regulator for CRC growth under HFD by programming cancer metabolism.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-04076-x
  10. Front Oncol. 2021 ;11 698951
    Energy Metabolic Plasticity of Colorectal Cancer Cells as a Determinant of Tumor Growth and Metastasis.
    Leenu Reinsalu, Marju Puurand, Vladimir Chekulayev, Sten Miller, Igor Shevchuk, Kersti Tepp, Egle Rebane-Klemm, Natalja Timohhina, Anton Terasmaa, Tuuli Kaambre.
      Metabolic plasticity is the ability of the cell to adjust its metabolism to changes in environmental conditions. Increased metabolic plasticity is a defining characteristic of cancer cells, which gives them the advantage of survival and a higher proliferative capacity. Here we review some functional features of metabolic plasticity of colorectal cancer cells (CRC). Metabolic plasticity is characterized by changes in adenine nucleotide transport across the outer mitochondrial membrane. Voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is the main protein involved in the transport of adenine nucleotides, and its regulation is impaired in CRC cells. Apparent affinity for ADP is a functional parameter that characterizes VDAC permeability and provides an integrated assessment of cell metabolic state. VDAC permeability can be adjusted via its interactions with other proteins, such as hexokinase and tubulin. Also, the redox conditions inside a cancer cell may alter VDAC function, resulting in enhanced metabolic plasticity. In addition, a cancer cell shows reprogrammed energy transfer circuits such as adenylate kinase (AK) and creatine kinase (CK) pathway. Knowledge of the mechanism of metabolic plasticity will improve our understanding of colorectal carcinogenesis.
    Keywords:  VDAC; adenylate kinase; aerobic glycolysis; creatine kinase; mitochondria; oxidative phosphorylation; tumor energy metabolism
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.698951
  11. Commun Biol. 2021 08 10. 4(1): 950
    Runt related transcription factor-1 plays a central role in vessel co-option of colorectal cancer liver metastases.
    Miran Rada, Audrey Kapelanski-Lamoureux, Stephanie Petrillo, Sébastien Tabariès, Peter Siegel, Andrew R Reynolds, Anthoula Lazaris, Peter Metrakos.
      Colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM) has two major histopathological growth patterns: angiogenic desmoplastic and non-angiogenic replacement. The replacement lesions obtain their blood supply through vessel co-option, wherein the cancer cells hijack pre-existing blood vessels of the surrounding liver tissue. Consequentially, anti-angiogenic therapies are less efficacious in CRCLM patients with replacement lesions. However, the mechanisms which drive vessel co-option in the replacement lesions are unknown. Here, we show that Runt Related Transcription Factor-1 (RUNX1) overexpression in the cancer cells of the replacement lesions drives cancer cell motility via ARP2/3 to achieve vessel co-option. Furthermore, overexpression of RUNX1 in the cancer cells is mediated by Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 (TGFβ1) and thrombospondin 1 (TSP1). Importantly, RUNX1 knockdown impaired the metastatic capability of colorectal cancer cells in vivo and induced the development of angiogenic lesions in liver. Our results confirm that RUNX1 may be a potential target to overcome vessel co-option in CRCLM.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02481-8
  12. Gastroenterology. 2021 Aug 06. pii: S0016-5085(21)03341-2. [Epub ahead of print]
    Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis promotes intestinal inflammation and malignancy by inhibiting exosomes-packaged miR-149-3p.
    Yingying Cao, Zhenhua Wang, Yuqing Yan, Linhua Ji, Jie He, Baoqin Xuan, Chaoqin Shen, Yanru Ma, Shanshan Jiang, Dan Ma, Tianying Tong, Xinyu Zhang, Ziyun Gao, Xiaoqiang Zhu, Jingyuan Fang, Haoyan Chen, Jie Hong.
      BACKGROUD & AIMS: Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) is strongly associated with the occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the mechanism of ETBF-induced intestinal inflammation and tumorigenesis remains unclear. METHODS microRNA sequencing was utilized to detect the differentially expressed miRNAs both in ETBF-treated cells and exosomes derived from ETBF-inoculated cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays were used to evaluate the effect of ETBF and exosomes on CRC cell proliferation. The biological role and mechanism of ETBF-mediated miR-149-3p in colitis and colon carcinogenesis were determined both in vitro and in vivo.RESULTS: ETBF promoted CRC cell proliferation by down-regulating miR-149-3p both in vitro and in vivo. ETBF-downregulated miR-149-3p depended on METTL14-mediated m6A methylation. As the target gene of miR-149-3p, PHF5A transactivated SOD2 through regulating KAT2A mRNA alternative splicing after ETBF treatment in CRC cells. miR-149-3p could be released in exosomes and mediated intercellular communication by modulating Th17 differentiation. The level of plasma exosomal miR-149-3p was gradually decreased from healthy control to IBD and CRC patients. MiR-149-3p, existing in plasma exosomes, negatively correlated with the abundance of ETBF in IBD and CRC patients.
    CONCLUSIONS: Exosomal miR-149-3p derived from ETBF-treated cells facilitated Th17 cell differentiation. ETBF-induced colorectal carcinogenesis depended on downregulating miR-149-3p and further promoting PHF5A-mediated RNA alternative splicing of KAT2A in CRC cells. targeting the ETBF/miR-149-3p pathway presents a promising approach to treat intestinal inflammatory and colorectal cancer patients with high amount of ETBF.
    Keywords:  PHF5A; Th17 cells; carcinogenesis; exosome; intestinal inflammation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2021.08.003
  13. Oncol Lett. 2021 Sep;22(3): 642
    Yes-associated protein expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.
    Liyu Cao, Cong Zhang, Qingqing Wu, Zhenzhen Bai, Jing Chen.
      Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of yes-associated protein (YAP) in CRC tissues, and to determine the relationship between the expression levels of YAP and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with CRC. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to examine the expression of YAP and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and key genes, using functional enrichment analysis. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect YAP expression in 181 CRC tissue samples and 30 normal colorectal mucosa samples. Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR were performed to detect the expression of YAP and β-catenin in CRC cells, and cellular proliferation was assessed using a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Finally, apoptosis was analyzed using flow cytometry. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that the positive expression rate of YAP in CRC tissues was 73.5%, which was significantly higher than that in normal colorectal mucosa samples. The expression of YAP in CRC was associated with histological differentiation, lymph node metastasis and Duke's stage. However, no significant associations were observed between YAP expression and age, sex and T stage. Downregulation of YAP promoted the proliferation and the inhibited apoptosis of CRC cells, and YAP expression was positively correlated with that of β-catenin in both CRC tissues and cells. Furthermore, YAP expression was upregulated in CRC tissues, which was correlated with tumor progression and prognosis. Therefore, YAP expression may be used as an independent predictor of poor prognosis in patients with CRC, and the underling molecular mechanism may be associated with the combined effect of Hippo and Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
    Keywords:  CRC; YAP; bioinformatics; immunohistochemistry; prognosis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12903
  14. Oncogene. 2021 Aug 12.
    Mutant APC promotes tumor immune evasion via PD-L1 in colorectal cancer.
    Bo Cen, Jie Wei, Dingzhi Wang, Ying Xiong, Jerry W Shay, Raymond N DuBois.
      PD-L1 expression is elevated in various human cancers, including colorectal cancer. High levels of PD-L1 expressed on tumor epithelial cells are one of the potential mechanisms by which tumor cells become resistant to immune attack. However, PD-L1 regulation in tumor cells is not fully understood. Here we demonstrate that mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene lead to colonic epithelial cell resistance to CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity by induction of PD-L1 expression. Mechanistically, this occurs as a result of the β-catenin/TCF4 complex binding to the PD-L1 promoter, leading to increased transcription. Our findings not only reveal a novel mechanism by which APC mutations induce tumor immune evasion via an immune checkpoint pathway but also pave the way for developing β-catenin or TCF4 inhibitors as possible new options for immune checkpoint inhibition.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01972-6
  15. Nutrients. 2021 Jul 15. pii: 2428. [Epub ahead of print]13(7):
    A Crosstalk between Diet, Microbiome and microRNA in Epigenetic Regulation of Colorectal Cancer.
    Małgorzata Guz, Witold Jeleniewicz, Anna Malm, Izabela Korona-Glowniak.
      A still growing interest between human nutrition in relation to health and disease states can be observed. Dietary components shape the composition of microbiota colonizing our gastrointestinal tract which play a vital role in maintaining human health. There is a strong evidence that diet, gut microbiota and their metabolites significantly influence our epigenome, particularly through the modulation of microRNAs. These group of small non-coding RNAs maintain cellular homeostasis, however any changes leading to impaired expression of miRNAs contribute to the development of different pathologies, including neoplastic diseases. Imbalance of intestinal microbiota due to diet is primary associated with the development of colorectal cancer as well as other types of cancers. In the present work we summarize current knowledge with particular emphasis on diet-microbiota-miRNAs axis and its relation to the development of colorectal cancer.
    Keywords:  colorectal cancer; diet; epigenetic; gut microbiota; gut microbiota-derived metabolites; miRNAs; nutrition
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13072428
  16. Cell Mol Immunol. 2021 Aug 12.
    IFNγ signaling integrity in colorectal cancer immunity and immunotherapy.
    Wan Du, Timothy L Frankel, Michael Green, Weiping Zou.
      The majority of colorectal cancer patients are not responsive to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). The interferon gamma (IFNγ) signaling pathway drives spontaneous and ICB-induced antitumor immunity. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the epigenetic, genetic, and functional integrity of the IFNγ signaling pathway in the colorectal cancer microenvironment and its immunological relevance in the therapeutic efficacy of and resistance to ICB. Moreover, we discuss how to target IFNγ signaling to inform novel clinical trials to treat patients with colorectal cancer.
    Keywords:  ARID1A; Apoptosis; Colorectal cancer; EZH2; Ferroptosis; IFNGR; Immunity; Interferon; MHC; PD-1; PD-L1; Palmitoylation; T cell
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-021-00735-3
  17. BMC Cancer. 2021 Aug 08. 21(1): 905
    Identification of prognostic immune-related gene signature associated with tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer.
    Yuanyuan Wang, Wei Li, Xiaojing Jin, Xia Jiang, Shang Guo, Fei Xu, Xingkai Su, Guiqi Wang, Zengren Zhao, Xiaosong Gu.
      BACKGROUND: The tumor microenvironment (TME) has significantly correlation with tumor occurrence and prognosis. Our study aimed to identify the prognostic immune-related genes (IRGs)in the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer (CRC).METHODS: Transcriptome and clinical data of CRC cases were downloaded from TCGA and GEO databases. Stromal score, immune score, and tumor purity were calculated by the ESTIMATE algorithm. Based on the scores, we divided CRC patients from the TCGA database into low and high groups, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Immune-related genes (IRGs) were selected by venn plots. To explore underlying pathways, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and functional enrichment analysis were used. After utilizing LASSO Cox regression analysis, we finally established a multi-IRGs signature for predicting the prognosis of CRC patients. A nomogram consists of the thirteen-IRGs signature and clinical parameters was developed to predict the overall survival (OS). We investigated the association between prognostic validated IRGs and immune infiltrates by TIMER database.
    RESULTS: Gene expression profiles and clinical information of 1635 CRC patients were collected from the TCGA and GEO databases. Higher stromal score, immune score and lower tumor purity were observed positive correlation with tumor stage and poor OS. Based on stromal score, immune score and tumor purity, 1517 DEGs, 1296 DEGs, and 1892 DEGs were identified respectively. The 948 IRGs were screened by venn plots. A thirteen-IRGs signature was constructed for predicting survival of CRC patients. Nomogram with a C-index of 0.769 (95%CI, 0.717-0.821) was developed to predict survival of CRC patients by integrating clinical parameters and thirteen-IRGs signature. The AUC for 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were 0.789, 0.783 and 0.790, respectively. Results from TIMER database revealed that CD1B, GPX3 and IDO1 were significantly related with immune infiltrates.
    CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we established a novel thirteen immune-related genes signature that may serve as a validated prognostic predictor for CRC patients, thus will be conducive to individualized treatment decisions.
    Keywords:  Colorectal cancer; GEO; Immune-related gene signature; Prognosis; TCGA; Tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-021-08629-3
  18. J Biol Chem. 2021 Aug 07. pii: S0021-9258(21)00871-1. [Epub ahead of print] 101068
    Circadian clock, carcinogenesis, chronochemotherapy connections.
    Yanyan Yang, Laura A Lindsey-Boltz, Courtney M Vaughn, Christopher P Selby, Xuemei Cao, Zhenxing Liu, David S Hsu, Aziz Sancar.
      The circadian clock controls the expression of nearly 50% of protein coding genes in mice, and most likely in humans as well. Therefore, disruption of the circadian clock is presumed to have serious pathological effects including cancer. However, epidemiological studies on individuals with circadian disruption because of night shift or rotating shift work have produced contradictory data not conducive to scientific consensus as to whether circadian disruption increases the incidence of breast, ovarian, prostate or colorectal cancers. Similarly, genetically engineered mice with clock disruption do not exhibit spontaneous or radiation-induced cancers at higher incidence than wild-type controls. Because many cellular functions including the cell cycle and cell division are, at least in part, controlled by the molecular clock components (CLOCK, BMAL1, CRYs, PERs), it has also been expected that appropriate timing of chemotherapy may increase the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs and ameliorate their side effect. However, empirical attempts at chronochemotherapy have not produced beneficial outcomes. Using mice without and with human tumor xenografts, sites of DNA damage and repair following treatment with the anticancer drug cisplatin have been mapped genome-wide at single nucleotide resolution and as a function of circadian time. The data indicate that mechanism-based studies such as these may provide information necessary for devising rational chronochemotherapy regimens.
    Keywords:  Cryptochrome; XR-seq; cisplatin; colorectal cancer; nucleotide excision repair; transcription-translation feedback loop; xenografts
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101068
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