MicroRNA100 Inhibits Self-Renewal of Breast Cancer Stem–like Cells and Breast Tumor Development

miRNAs are essential for self-renewal and differentiation of normal and malignant stem cells by regulating the expression of key stem cell regulatory genes. Here, we report evidence implicating the miR100 in self-renewal of cancer stem-like cells (CSC). We found that miR100 expression levels relate to the cellular differentiation state, with lowest expression in cells displaying stem cell markers. Utilizing a tetracycline-inducible lentivirus to elevate expression of miR100 in human cells, we found that increasing miR100 levels decreased the production of breast CSCs. This effect was correlated with an inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in mouse tumor xenografts due to attenuated expression of the CSC regulatory genes SMARCA5, SMARCD1, and BMPR2. Furthermore, miR100 induction in breast CSCs immediately upon their orthotopic implantation or intracardiac injection completely blocked tumor growth and metastasis formation. Clinically, we observed a significant association between miR100 expression in breast cancer specimens and patient survival. Our results suggest that miR100 is required to direct CSC self-renewal and differentiation

Radiation-induced lymphopenia and the survival of women with cervical cancer: a meta-analysis

The current systematic analysis and meta-analysis was aimed to evaluate the association between radiation-induced lymphopenia (RIL) and survival of women with cervical cancer (CC). PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant cohort studies comparing survival between women with CC who developed versus not developed RIL after radiotherapy. We pooled the results using a random-effects model that incorporates heterogeneity. In the meta-analysis, 952 women with CC were included from eight cohort studies. Overall, 378 (39.7%) of them had RIL after radiotherapy. During a median follow-up duration of 41.8 months, pooled results showed that RIL was independently associated with poor overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.81 to 3.94, p < 0.001; I2 = 20%) and progression-free survival (HR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.58 to 2.98, p < 0.001; I2 = 0%). Predefined subgroup analyses showed similar results in patients with grade 3-4 and grade 4 RIL, in patients with RIL diagnosed during or after the radiotherapy, and in studies with quality score of seven or eight points (p values for subgroup effect all < 0.05). In conclusion, women with RIL were associated with poor survival after radiotherapy for CC

Nigericin Boosts Anti-Tumor Immune Response via Inducing Pyroptosis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors improved the clinical outcomes of advanced triple negative breast cancer (TBNC) patients, the response rate remains relatively low. Nigericin is an antibiotic derived from Streptomyces hydrophobicus. We found that nigericin caused cell death in TNBC cell lines MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 by inducing concurrent pyroptosis and apoptosis. As nigericin facilitated cellular potassium efflux, we discovered that it caused mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to mitochondrial ROS production, as well as activation of Caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and Caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in TNBC cells. Notably, nigericin-induced pyroptosis could amplify the anti-tumor immune response by enhancing the infiltration and anti-tumor effect of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Moreover, nigericin showed a synergistic therapeutic effect when combined with anti-PD-1 antibody in TNBC treatment. Our study reveals that nigericin may be a promising anti-tumor agent, especially in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced TNBC treatment

Total neoadjuvant treatment to increase the clinical complete response rate for distal locally advanced rectal cancer (TESS): A study protocol of a prospective, open‐label, multicenter, single‐arm, phase 2 trial

Abstract Background Standard treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) was neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT), followed by total mesorectal excision (TME). Total neoadjuvant treatment (TNT), a new concept, attempts to deliver both systemic chemotherapy and neoadjuvant CRT prior to surgery. Patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were more likely to show higher tumor regression. The objective of this trial was to increase complete clinical rate (cCR) for LARC patients by optimizing tumor response, using TNT regimen as compared to conventional chemoradiotherapy. TESS, a prospective, open‐label, multicenter, single‐arm, phase 2 study, is underway. Methods Main inclusion criteria include cT3‐4aNany or cT1‐4aN+ rectal adenocarcinoma aged 18‐70y; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance 0–1; location ≤5 cm from anal verge. Ninety‐eight patients will receive 2 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy Capeox (capecitabine + oxaliplatin) before, during, and after radiotherapy 50Gy/25 fractions, before TME (or other treatment decisions, such as Watch and Wait strategy) and adjuvant chemotherapy capecitabine 2 cycles. Primary endpoint is the cCR rate. Secondary endpoints include ratio of sphincter preservation strategy; pathological complete response rate and tumor regression grade distribution; local recurrence or metastasis; disease‐free survival; locoregional recurrence‐free survival; acute toxicity; surgical complications; long‐term anal function; late toxicity; adverse effect, ECOG standard score, and quality of life. Adverse events are graded per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events V5.0. Acute toxicity will be monitored during antitumor treatment, and late toxicity will be monitored for 3 years from the end of the first course of antitumor treatment. Discussion The TESS trial aims to explore a new TNT strategy, which is expected to increase the rate of cCR and sphincter preservation rate. This study will provide new options and evidence for a new sandwich TNT strategy in patients with distal LARC

microRNA100 inhibits self-renewal of breast cancer stem-like cells and breast tumor development

microRNAs are essential for self-renewal and differentiation of normal and malignant stem cells by regulating the expression of key stem cell regulatory genes. Here we report evidence implicating the microRNA100 (miR-100) in self-renewal of cancer stem-like cells (CSC). We found that miR-100 expression levels relate to the cellular differentiation state with lowest expression in cells displaying stem cell markers. Utilizing a tetracycline-inducible lentivirus to elevate expression of miR-100 in human cells, we found that increasing mir-100 levels decreased the production of breast CSCs. This effect was correlated with an inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in mouse tumor xenografts due to attenuated expression of the CSC regulatory genes SMARCA5, SMARCD1 and BMPR2. Furthermore, miR-100 induction in breast CSC immediately upon their orthotopic implantation or intracardiac injection completely blocked tumor growth and metastasis formation. Clinically, we observed a significant association between miR-100 expression in breast cancer specimens and patient survival. Our results suggest that miR-100 is required to direct CSC self-renewal and differentiation

mir-93-negative SUM159 cells have increased tumor-initiating capacity.

<p>A. ALDH⁺ cells from SUM159 cells shows lower mir-93 expression level in comparison to ALDH⁻ cells as accessed by qRT-PCR. P<0.05; Error bars represent mean ± STDEV. B. A schematic of mir-93-Sensor-GFP lentiviral construct; C. SUM159 cells were transduced with the mir-93-sensor-GFP lentivirus and selected with hygromycin B, and cells were sorted based on the GFP expression. A serial dilution of mir-93-negative (sensor/GFP-positive) SUM159 cells and mir-93-positive (sensor/GFP-negative) SUM159 cells were injected into the 4^th fatpads of NOD/SCID mouse. *p<0.05. D. mir-93-negative cells gave rise to tumors containing both mir-93-negative and mir-93-positive cell populations, but mir-93-positive cells only gave rise to tumors containing mir-93-positive cell populations.</p

mir-93 promotes tumor growth by increasing CSCs in MCF7 cells.

<p>A. Mir-93 is expressed equally in CD24⁻CD44⁺ and bulk (non-CD24⁻CD44⁺) populations of MCF7 cells. B. 1×10⁶ pTRIPZ-MCF7-mir-93 cells were plated in T75 flasks and, after overnight, the cells were treated with Vehicle control, DOX (1 ug/ml), docetaxel (10 nM) or the combination for 7 days. DOX alone, docetaxel alone or the combination increased the CD24⁻CD44⁺ population <i>in vitro</i>. C. 1000k pTRIPZ-MCF7-mir-93 cells were injected into the 4^th fatpads of NOD/SCID mice. Treatment was initiated as indicated by the red arrow. DOX alone (1 mg/ml in drinking water) promoted MCF7 tumor growth in vivo; docetaxel (10 mg/kg i.p. once weekly) alone or the combination inhibits MCF7 tumor growth in vivo. D. Tumors from each group were collected. Analysis for CD24 and CD44 was performed on dissociated cells. DOX alone, docetaxel alone, or the combination increased the CD24⁻CD44⁺ populations in MCF7. E. Serial dilutions of cells obtained from these xenografts were implanted in the 4^th fatpads of secondary mice, which received no further treatment. Cells from DOX-, docetaxel-, or combination-treated tumors formed secondary tumors at all dilutions (50000, 5000, 500), whereas only higher numbers of cells (50000, 5000) obtained from control xenografts were able to generate tumors. *p<0.05; Error bars represent mean ± STDEV. The colored “*” on the side of the tumor growth curve indicates that tumor growth is significantly different between the control group and the group with the same colored curve.</p