RUOYU CHEN¹, YIMAN WU¹, FENG WANG¹, JUNTAO ZHOU¹, HUAZHANG ZHUANG¹, WEI LI^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.7, pp. 1037-1046, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.051074 - 03 July 2024

Abstract Background: Oleanolic acid (OA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid exhibiting specific anti-cancer properties and highly effective antioxidant activity, was isolated from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Conversely, the OA that impacts colon cancer (CC) cells and its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Methods: The cytotoxic effect of OA alone or OA-5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) combination on normal and CC cells was analyzed by methyl thiazolyl diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT). Then, the impact of OA on CC cell lines (LoVo and HT-29) proliferation and stemness were measured using colon formation and tumorsphere formation assays. Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4), Prominin-1 (CD133), Nanog,… More >

JIAWEI YIN¹, YONGSHENG WANG^2,3, GUANGWEI WEI⁴, MINGXIN WEN^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.6, pp. 959-970, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.049349 - 10 June 2024

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to reveal the role and possible mechanism of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 2T (UBE2T) in the biological activities of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Methods: The specific protein and gene expression were quantified by Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, the proportion of BCSCs was examined by flow cytometry, and the self-renewal and proliferation of BCSCs were verified by serial sphere formation and soft agar. Results: Increasing expression of UBE2T was drastically found in breast cancer than that in adjacent tissues. Furthermore, UBE2T overexpression significantly increased the proportion of BCSCs in More >

JIA SHAO^1,2, CAN ZHANG², YAONAN TANG², AIQIN HE², WEIPEI ZHU^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.4, pp. 571-580, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.049092 - 09 April 2024

Abstract Objective: Previous studies indicated that aberrant circular RNA (circRNA) expression affects gene expression regulatory networks, leading to the aberrant activation of tumor pathways and promoting tumor cell growth. However, the expression, clinical significance, and effects on cell propagation, invasion, and dissemination of circRNA_001896 in cervical cancer (CC) tissues remain unclear. Methods: The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE113696 and GSE102686) were used to examine differential circRNA expression in CC and adjacent tissues. The expression of circRNA_001896 was detected in 72 CC patients using fluorescence quantitative PCR. Correlation analysis with clinical pathological features was performed through… More >

TABEA GEWALT^1,2, KA-WON NOH³, LYDIA MEDER^1,2,4,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.2, pp. 101-115, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028105 - 10 April 2023

Abstract LIN28B is an RNA-binding protein that targets a broad range of microRNAs and modulates their maturation and activity. Under normal conditions, LIN28B is exclusively expressed in embryogenic stem cells, blocking differentiation and promoting proliferation. In addition, it can play a role in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by repressing the biogenesis of let-7 microRNAs. In malignancies, LIN28B is frequently overexpressed, which is associated with increased tumor aggressiveness and metastatic properties. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of LIN28B in promoting tumor progression and metastasis in solid tumor entities and its potential use as a clinical therapeutic More >

Dongliang Zhu^1,*, Jun Yang², Jiaxin Xu³

Oncologie, Vol.24, No.3, pp. 471-482, 2022, DOI:10.32604/oncologie.2022.024062 - 19 September 2022

Abstract G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) is a transmembrane receptor that mediates non-genomic effects of estrogen. This study aimed to investigate the role of GPER in the stemness formation and malignancies in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Spheroids of MDA-MB-468 cells were induced by mammosphere culture, and the proportion of the CD44⁺ /CD24^−/low stem cell subpopulation was detected. Malignant characteristics, expression of GPER and stemness-related markers, and tumorigenesis in a xenograft assay were compared between the mammospheres and adherent cultured cells. The impacts of 17β-estradiol (E2) and the GPER-specific antagonist G15 were studied in in vitro assays.… More >

KEWEI GAO^1,#, JIANGFENG HU^2,#, YI ZHOU³, LIANG ZHU^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.6, pp. 1521-1526, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.09220 - 01 September 2021

Abstract Increasing evidence proves that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an important role in regulating the biological behaviors of tumors. The central purpose of this research was to investigate the functions of circRNA in gastric cancer. The utilization of real-time PCR was to test circPTN expression in gastric cancer cells. Cell counting colony formation assays, CCK-8 assay, and EdU assay were used to investigate proliferation. Transwell assay was applied to investigate migration. We discovered that circPTN was highly expressed in gastric cancer cells. Low expression of circPTN inhibits gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration. Elevated expression of More >

XINGHONG YAO^1,2,#, CHENGQUAN LU^3,#, JUNYI SHEN¹, WENLI JIANG¹, YAN QIU¹, YE ZENG^1,*, LIANG LI^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.6, pp. 1425-1448, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.017289 - 01 September 2021

Abstract Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are heterogeneous with self-renewal and differentiation ability. The mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi) described the similarity between tumor cells and CSCs, which is positively associated with the poor prognosis of cancer patients. However, the key prognostic genes related to mRNAsi in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. A 9-gene signature related to mRNAsi and HCC prognosis including PSMG3, SNRPD1, DTYMK, PIGU, NME1, TXNL4A, IPO4, PES1, and REXO4 was obtained. High expression of this signature indicates poor prognosis of HCC. PIGU was an independent prognostic factor of HCC, which was significantly associated with progression of… More >

DONGYUE ZHANG, LINA WANG, HAO WANG, XIAOQIAN LV, QIAN REN, GUOGUANG ZHENG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.1, pp. 149-156, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.010334 - 26 January 2021

Abstract Legumain is a C13 family cysteine protease. It plays diverse roles under both physiological and pathological conditions. The high-level expression of legumain is detected in solid tumors. Legumain promotes the proliferation and migration of tumor cells. However, the effect of legumain in blood diseases has not been established. In this report, we studied the effect of legumain on leukemia cells by overexpressing it in THP1 cells. The results demonstrated that legumain promoted cell proliferation, whereas it had little effect on cell apoptosis. Furthermore, legumain promoted the migration of THP1 cells. It was worth noting that More >

Ping Yin^*, Wei Wang^*, Jian Gao^†, Yu Bai^*, Zhuo Wang^*, Lei Na^*, Yu Sun^*, Chenghai Zhao^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.3, pp. 273-284, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15783052025051

Abstract Cancer cell stemness is responsible for cancer relapse, distal metastasis, and drug resistance. Here we identified that Frizzled 2 (Fzd2), one member of Wnt receptor Frizzled family, induced human breast cancer (BC) cell stemness via noncanonical Wnt pathways. Fzd2 was overexpressed in human BC tissues, and Fzd2 overexpression was associated with an unfavorable outcome. Fzd2 knockdown (KD) disturbed the mesenchymallike phenotype, migration, and invasion of BC cells. Moreover, Fzd2 KD impaired BC cell mammosphere formation, reduced Lgr5+ BC cell subpopulation, and enhanced sensitivity of BC cells to chemical agents. Mechanistically, Fzd2 modulated and bound with More >

Pihua Han^*†1, Haiming Yang^‡1, Xiang Li^*1, Jie Wu^*, Peili Wang^§, Dapeng Liu^*, Guodong Xiao^¶, Xin Sun^*, Hong Ren^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.7-8, pp. 715-729, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X16037124605559

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify a novel cancer stemness-related ceRNA regulatory axis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) via weighted gene coexpression network analysis of a stemness index. The RNA sequencing expression profiles of 513 cancer samples and 60 normal samples were obtained from the TCGA database. Differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), and miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) were identified with R software. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted using DAVID 6.8. The ceRNA network was constructed via multiple bioinformatics analyses, and the correlations between possible ceRNAs and prognosis were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier plots. WGCNA was then… More >