8829

NRP1

The mechanism by which neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) induces malignancy in epithelial Ovarian cancer (EOC) is still unknown. This study is the first to demonstrate the relationship between NRP-1 expression and EMT markers vimentin, N-cadherin, E-cadherin and Slug. We used tissue microarrays containing the three main subtypes of EOC tumors: serous, mucinous cystadenocarcinoma and endometrioid adenocarcinoma and representative cases retrieved from our pathology archives. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression levels and location of NRP-1 and the aforementioned EMT proteins. NRP-1 was mainly expressed on cancer cells but not in normal ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). The Immunoreactive Scoring (IRS) values revealed that the expression of NRP-1, Slug and E-cadherin in the malignant subtypes of ovarian tissues was significantly higher (5.18 +/- 0.64, 4.84 +/- 0.7, 4.98 +/- 0.68, respectively) than their expression in the normal and benign tissues (1.04 +/- 0.29, 0.84 +/- 0.68, 1.71 +/- 0.66, respectively), with no significant differences among the studied subtypes. Vimentin was expressed in the cancer cell component of 43% of tumors and it was exclusively localized in the stroma of all mucinous tumors. The Spearman's rho value indicated that NRP-1 is positively related to the EMT markers E-cadherin and Slug. This notion might indicate that NRP-1 is a partner in the EMT process in EOC tumors.CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Autocrine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can regulate the survival and progression of cancers through its various receptors. But the mechanisms and mediators for these functions are largely uncovered, especially in breast cancer. We examined the potential roles and mechanisms of VEGF/neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) axis in regulating the tumorigenesis and metastasis of breast cancer and found the expression of VEGF and NRP-1 correlated with aggressiveness of breast cancer. Knockdown of VEGF or NRP-1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion, but enhanced the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells. In contrast, induction of NRP-1 over-expression promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of MCF-7 cells. VEGF or NRP-1 silencing attenuated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and the activation of NF-kappaBp65, but enhanced GSK-3beta expression in MDA-MB-231 cells while NRP-1 over-expression reversed the effects in MCF-7 cells. Treatment with hVEGF165 did not change the inhibition in NRP-1 silencing MDA-MB-231 cells, but enhanced the aggressiveness of NRP-1 over-expressing MCF-7 cells. In addition, VEGF-silencing inhibited the growth and metastasis of implanted MDA-MB-231 tumors in vivo. Our novel data suggest that the positive regulation of the VEGF/NRP-1 axis on the tumorigenesis and metastasis of breast cancer may be associated with enhancing the EMT process and the NF-kappaB and beta-catenin signaling. Hence, the VEGF/NRP-1 axis may be a valuable target for design of therapies for intervention of breast cancer.CI - Copyright (c) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying colorectal tumor metastasis and growth remain elusive. Recently, accumulating evidence has indicated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in CRC progression and metastasis; however, the biological role and clinical significance of lncRNA 00152 (lnc00152) in CRC remains largely unknown. Thus, in this study, lnc00152 expression was measured in 80 human CRC tissue samples, 40 noncancerous tissue samples, and 3 CRC cell lines (SW480, SW620 and LoVo) using RTqPCR. We examined the effects of lnc00152 on CRC cells following transfection with lnc00152 overexpression plasmid or respective siRNA in vitro and in vivo. Luciferase assays revealed the mechanism driving competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA). We identified that lnc00152 was aberrantly overexpressed in colorectal tumors and cancer cells and that lnc00152 was modulated by miRNA206. lnc00152 overexpression enhanced the proliferative and invasive ability of CRC cells in vitro, promoted tumor growth in vivo, and was associated with the shorter overall survival of patients with CRC. In addition, lnc00152 overexpression promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and increased neuropilin1 (NRP1) expression in the CRC cells. By contrast, lnc00152 silencing exerted a counteractive effect. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the critical role of lnc00152 in tumor growth and progression in CRC, and identify a novel therapeutic target associated with CRC development and progression.