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Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) is a tumor target for developing the anti-tumor theranostic agents. Cetuximab, an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody against EGFR-positive tumors, inhibits cell proliferation and growth was labeled with radioactiveWe conjugated cetuximab with an isotope chelator, diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA), and consequently labeled cetuximab-DTPA withThe conjugated ratio between cetuximab and DTPA was 1:6 measured by MALDI-TOF-MS. The better labeling concentration of cetuximab with 10 mCi ofWe suggested that the

The survivals of gastric cancer (GC) patients are associated with early diagnosis and effective treatments. Therefore, it is urgent for the discovery of early GC biomarkers and tumor-targeting therapeutics. The aim of this study was to uncover putative tissue biomarkers of GC using 2D DIGE and then apply one of these specific markers in GC treatment. We found three putative biomarkers of GC with significant differences in expression level compared to adjacent normal tissue, including glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and glutathione s-transferase pi (GSTpi) with increased expression level, and alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT) with reduced expression level. The overexpressed GRP78 was used as a targeted protein for guiding the drugs to tumor cells, leading to more effective treatment for GC xenografts. Our results demonstrated that the designated GRP78-binding peptide based on the sequence, WIFPWIQL, was selectively prone to recognize and bind to GC MKN45 cells in vitro, and also improve the delivery efficiency of polymeric micelles-encapsulated drugs into tumor cells and displayed better therapeutic outcome in experimental animals. This strategy of GRP78-mediated drug targeting system may bring chemotherapeutic drugs with more precise targeting to tumor cells, leading to minimize side effects on patients after chemotherapy.

Breast cancer with sphenoid sinus metastasis has rarely been reported. A 57-year-old woman presented with Tolosa-Hunt syndrome 1 year after undergoing surgery and chemoradiation therapy for ductal breast cancer. The diagnosis of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome was based on a computed tomography scan and granulomatous pathologic findings from the ethmoid sinuses. Magnetic resonance images revealed an enhanced soft tissue mass mainly in the right sphenoid sinus; the second sinoscopic biopsy revealed metastatic invasive ductal breast carcinoma with intact surface epithelium. The patient died 20 days after the second biopsy. In this report, we discuss the possible metastatic pathway and choice of imaging modalities for the diagnosis of this rare metastatic sphenoid sinus cancer.

Objectives: YM155, an inhibitor of interleukin enhancer-binding factor 3 (ILF3), significantly suppresses cancer stemness property, implying that ILF3 contributes to cell survival of cancer stem cells. However, the molecular function of ILF3 inhibiting cancer stemness remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the potential function of ILF3 involving in cell survival of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive lung stem-like cancer, and investigate the potential role to improve the efficacy of anti-EGFR therapeutics. Materials and Methods: The regulated association of EGFR and ILF3 was investigated at first. ILF3 was knockdowned and RNAseq was utilized to search for the putative genes regulated by ILF3. Meanwhile, HCC827- and A549-derived cancer stem-like cells were used to investigate the role of ILF3 in the formation of cancer stem-like tumorspheres. Results: We found that EGFR induced ILF3 expression, and YM155 reduced EGFR expression. The knockdown of ILF3 reduced not only EGFR expression in mRNA and protein levels, but also cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating that ILF3 was an oncoprotein contributing to cancer cell survival. Moreover, the knockdown and inhibition of ILF3 by shRNA and YM155, respectively, reduced the formation and survival of HCC827- and A549-derived tumorspheres through inhibiting HER3/ERBB3 expression, and synergized the therapeutic efficacy of afatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, against EGFR-positive A549 lung cells. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that ILF3 played an oncogenic role maintaining the EGFR-mediated cellular pathway as a therapeutic target to improve the therapeutic efficacy of afatinib. Therefore, we suggested that YM155, an ILF3 inhibitor, was potential for utilization in cancer therapy against the EGFR-positive cancers. Citation Format: Chun-Chia Cheng, Kuei-Fang Chou, Cheng-Wen Wu, Nai-Wen Su, Cheng-Liang Peng, Ying-Wen Su, Jungshan Chang, Ai-Sheng Ho, Huan-Chau Lin, Caleb Gon-Shen Chen, Yu-Cheng Chang, Ken-Hong Lim, Yi-Fang Chang. EGFR-mediated interleukin enhancer-binding factor 3 contributes to formation and survival of cancer stem-like tumorspheres through regulating HER3/ERBB3 expression as a therapeutic target against EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3060.

Background Hypoxia in tumor niche is one of important factors to start regeneration of blood vessels, leading to increase survival, proliferation, and invasion in cancer cells. Under hypoxia microenvironment, furthermore, steadily increased hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is observed, and can increase vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and promote angiogenesis. Zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP), a heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibitor, is potential to inhibit tumor proliferation and progression. However, the mechanism of ZnPP in inhibition of tumor is not completely clear. We hypothesize that ZnPP may modulate HIF-1α through inhibiting HO-1, and then inhibit angiogenesis and tumor progression. This study aimed to dissect the mechanism of ZnPP in tumor suppression. Results We observed the amount of VEGF was increased in the sera of the colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (n = 34, p

Due to their similarity to type IV pilus (Tfp) subunits, the pseudopilins, XpsG, -H, -I, -J and -K, have been predicted to form a pilus-like structure in the type II secretion (T2S) pathway. While overexpression of GspG can result in the formation of bundle structures, the functions of other pseudopilin are not known yet. In this study, we investigate the mutual interaction among the pseudopilins and characterize the specialized minor pseudopilin, XpsJ. By using gel filtration and Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, a linearly ordered interactive relationship is revealed among the four pseudopilins, XpsG-XpsI-XpsH-XpsJ. Notably, unlike the mutant XpsJ194 staying in the inner membrane, wild type XpsJ stayed in the outer membrane and blocked the extension of overexpressed XpsG to outside of the cell. By analogy with the Type I pilus structures, we hypothesize that the XpsH and XpsI might act as an adaptor to connect XpsJ with the major pseudopilin XpsG, and XpsJ might act as a tip to restrict the out-growth of XpsG in the pilus-like structure of the T2S pathway.

Cancer stem cell survival is the leading factor for tumor recurrence after tumor-suppressive treatments. Therefore, specific and efficient inhibitors of cancer stemness must be discovered for reducing tumor recurrence. YM155 has been indicated to significantly reduce stemness-derived tumorsphere formation. However, the pharmaceutical mechanism of YM155 against cancer stemness is unclear. This study investigated the potential mechanism of YM155 against cancer stemness in lung cancer. Tumorspheres derived from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant HCC827 and EGFR wild-type A549 cells expressing higher cancer stemness markers (CD133, Oct4, and Nanog) were used as cancer stemness models. We observed that EGFR autophosphorylation (Y1068) was higher in HCC827- and A549-derived tumorspheres than in parental cells; this autophosphorylation induced tumorsphere formation by activating G9a-mediated stemness. Notably, YM155 inhibited tumorsphere formation by blocking the autophosphorylation of EGFR and the EGFR-G9a-mediated stemness pathway. The chemical and genetic inhibition of EGFR and G9a revealed the significant role of the EGFR-G9a pathway in maintaining the cancer stemness property. In conclusion, this study not only revealed that EGFR could trigger tumorsphere formation by elevating G9a-mediated stemness but also demonstrated that YM155 could inhibit this formation by simultaneously blocking EGFR autophosphorylation and G9a activity, thus acting as a potent agent against lung cancer stemness.

Cancer stem cells survive and lead to tumor recurrence in tumor therapeutic treatments. Lung cancer cells highly express epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is critical for tumor progression. We hypothesized that EGFR may play a pivotal role in the induction of cancer stemness cells (CSCs). The aim of this study attempted to investigate the molecular mechanism of EGFR-mediated cancer stemness, and to discover the potent therapeutic agents. A high expression level of cancer stemness markers, ALDH1, CD133, Oct4, and Nanog was observed in tumorspheres derived from HCC827. External EGF further elevated the expression of Oct4 in HCC827 cells. Moreover, chemical inhibition and genetic knockdown of EGFR reduced the Oct4 expression and also tumorsphere formation. We found that inhibitors targeting to EGFR (afatinib), ILF3 (YM155), and G9a (UNC0642) are potential to reduce the formations of tumorspheres. The results revealed that EGFR triggered the formation of tumorspheres through elevating the activations of G9a-mediated stemness genes. In addition, YM155 effectively inhibited tumor growth and formation of tumorspheres as an anti-lung cancer agent blocking the EGFR-G9a cell initiating program pathway. This study demonstrated that EGFR participated in maintain of cancer stemness property through expressing ILF3 and G9a expressions. YM155 inhibited the EGFR-G9a stemness pathway, and reduced the formation of tumorspheres as a potent anti-lung cancer agent. Citation Format: Chun-Chia Cheng, Jungshan Chang, Huan-Chau Lin, Ai-Sheng Ho, Ken-Hong Lim, Chun-Chao Chang, Yi-Fang Chang, Cheng-Wen Wu. EGFR induces ILF3 and G9a expressions to maintain Oct4-mediated stemness property in lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 934. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-934

Gastric cancer (GC) has a high rate of morbidity and mortality among various cancers worldwide. The development of noninvasive diagnostic methods or technologies for tracking the occurrence of GC is urgent, and searching reliable biomarkers is considered.This study intended to directly discover differential biomarkers from GC tissues by two-dimension-differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), and further validate protein expression by western blotting (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC).Pairs of GC tissues (gastric cancer tissues and the adjacent normal tissues) obtained from surgery was investigated for 2D-DIEG.Five proteins wereconfirmed by WB and IHC, including glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), glutathione s-transferase pi (GSTpi), apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI), alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT) and gastrokine-1 (GKN-1). Among the results, GRP78, GSTpi and A1ATwere significantlyup-regulated and down-regulated respectively in gastric cancer patients. Moreover, GRP78 and ApoAI were correlated with A1AT for protein expressions.This study presumes these proteins could be candidates of reliable biomarkers for gastric cancer.

Objective: Human neutrophil peptides (HNPs) -1, -2 and -3 are significantly upregulated and were reported as biomarkers in gastric cancer (GC). However, the tissue location and function of HNPs 1-3 are still unclear in GC, and the spatial distribution of the triad needs to be disclosed. The aims of this study were to investigate the distribution and relationships among HNPs-1, -2 and -3, and assess whether infiltrated neutrophils accumulate in gastric tumor.Methods: In this study, paired samples (n=33) of the GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues from the same patients were obtained from surgery. Expression of HNPs 1-3 were detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The distributions of the HNPs 1-3 in GC tissues were investigated. After verification of HNPs-1 by immunohistochemistry, infiltrated neutrophils were also detected. Then, an in vitro assay was used to observe the binding capacity and measure the cytotoxic effect of HNPs-1 against AGS cells.Results: Comparing to neighboring normal tissue, expressional level of HNPs 1-3 were significantly higher and their distributions overlapped in cancerous tissues of GC patients with high abundance in the lamina propria, whereas HNPs-1 was identified as the highest major peak. Moreover, HNPs-1, -2 and -3 correlated with each other. Besides, we also observed that increased infiltrated neutrophils accumulating in GC tissues, indicating that a strong positive correlation between HNPs 1-3 and infiltrated neutrophils. In addition, the further investigated demonstrated that the major peptide, HNPs-1, was statistically increased with the advance of tumor development from the early to advanced stage of GC (p < 0.05). Moreover, we also noticed that HNPs-1 with a great binding capacity to GC AGS cells in vitro can inhibit tumor cell growth.Conclusions: Our results suggest that neutrophil secreted peptides, HNPs 1-3, increased in the GC tissues and could be used as potential biomarkers detected using MALDI-TOF MS, implying that elevated neutrophils may be used as a tumor target for tumor treatment. The binding capacity of HNPs-1 with GC cells implies that tracking molecules conjugated with HNPs-1 could be applied as a specific probe for GC diagnoses.

Background The gold standard of assessing liver fibrosis is liver biopsy, which is invasive and not without risk. Therefore, searching for noninvasive serologic biomarkers for liver fibrosis is an importantly clinical issue. Methods A total of 16 healthy volunteers and 45 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) were enrolled (F0: n = 16, F1: n = 7, F2: n = 17, F3: n = 8 and F4: n = 13, according to the METAVIR classification). Three serum samples of each fibrotic stage were analyzed by two-dimension difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). The differential proteins were identified by the cooperation of MALDI-TOF/TOF and MASCOT; then western blotting and Bio-Plex Suspension Array were used to quantify the protein levels. Results Three prominent candidate biomarkers were identified: alpha 2 macroglobulin (A2M) is up regulated; vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) and apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI) are down regulated. The serum concentration of A2M was significantly different among normal, mild (F1/F2) and advanced fibrosis (F3/F4) (p < 0.01). The protein levels of VDBP and ApoAI were significantly higher in normal/mild fibrosis, when compared to those in advanced fibrosis (both p < 0.01). Conclusions This study not only reveals three putative biomarkers of liver fibrosis (A2M, VDBP and ApoAI) but also proves the differential expressions of those markers in different stages of fibrosis. We expect that combination of these novel biomarkers could be applied clinically to predict the stage of liver fibrosis without the need of liver biopsy.