Self-seeding circulating tumor cells promote the proliferation and metastasis of human osteosarcoma by upregulating interleukin-8.

Most circulating tumor cells (CTCs) die during the process of metastasis, but self-seeding CTCs can invade the primary tumor or form clinically meaningful metastases. This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of self-seeding CTCs to promote osteosarcoma growth and lung metastasis and to clarify the specific role of interleukin (IL)-8 in CTC self-seeding. We successfully isolated and cultured self-seeding CTCs through a self-seeding nude mouse model established using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled F5M2 cells and found that self-seeding CTCs exhibit increased cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, increased tumor growth and lung metastasis in mice, and increased IL-8 expression.

Ginsenoside Rh2 enhances the antitumor immunological response of a melanoma mice model.

The treatment of malignant tumors following surgery is important in preventing relapse. Among all the post-surgery treatments, immunomodulators have demonstrated satisfactory effects on preventing recurrence according to recent studies. Ginsenoside is a compound isolated from panax ginseng, which is a famous traditional Chinese medicine.

Hypoxia promotes chemotherapy resistance by down-regulating SKA1 gene expression in human osteosarcoma.

Drug resistance has always been the main problem in osteosarcoma treatment, and hypoxia seems to be one of the many causes for drug resistance. Therefore, in this study, we investigated how hypoxia triggers chemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma. We first screened hypoxia- and normoxia- cultured osteosarcoma cells in silico to identify the differentially expressed genes specifically related to drug resistance.

MicroRNA-34a affects chondrocyte apoptosis and proliferation by targeting the SIRT1/p53 signaling pathway during the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent degenerative joint disease with multifactorial etiology caused by risk factors such as ageing, obesity and trauma. Previously, it was reported that the inhibition of microRNA-34a (miR-34a) may reduce rat chondrocyte apoptosis induced by IL-1β, whereas the molecular mechanism and the role of miR-34a in human chondrocyte as well as in OA progression remains to be determined. In the current study, using MTT, luciferase reporter assays and western blot analysis we identified that miR-34a was upregulated while silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) was inhibited in chondrocytes from 12 OA patients compared with healthy chondrocytes from 10 trauma amputees.

Small flexible structure for targeted delivery of therapeutic and imaging moieties in precision medicine.

The goals of precision medicine are to link diagnostic and therapeutic agents, improve clinical outcomes, and minimize side effects. We present a simple, small, flexible three-armed core structure that can be conjugated to targeting, imaging, and therapeutic moieties. The targeting molecule can be a peptide, protein, or chemical compound.

Interleukin-6 suppression reduces tumour self-seeding by circulating tumour cells in a human osteosarcoma nude mouse model.

Tumour self-seeding by circulating tumour cells (CTCs) enhances tumour progression and recurrence. Previously, we demonstrated that tumour self-seeding by CTCs occurs in osteosarcoma and revealed that interleukin-6 (IL-6) may promote CTC attraction. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of IL-6 in tumour self-seeding by CTCs.

Aberrant CXCR4 and β-catenin expression in osteosarcoma correlates with patient survival.

To determine the clinical significance of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and β-catenin in osteosarcoma, their protein expression levels were assessed in 96 osteosarcoma and 20 osteochondroma cases using immunohistochemistry. Additionally, CXCR4 and β-catenin mRNA expression levels were measured in 16 fresh osteosarcoma and 16 adjacent healthy tissue samples using fluorescent reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). In the osteosarcoma samples, the positive CXCR4 protein expression rate was significantly higher than the rate in the osteochondroma samples (68.

CXCR4-targeted near-infrared imaging allows detection of orthotopic and metastatic human osteosarcoma in a mouse model.

CXCR4 is expressed at primary and metastatic sites of osteosarcoma. We developed a novel CXCR4-targeted near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent imaging agent (referred to as CXCR4-IR-783). The binding to representative osteosarcoma cells (F5M2 and F4 for high- and low- CXCR4 expression) was examined.

SDF-1/CXCR4 promotes F5M2 osteosarcoma cell migration by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Osteosarcoma (OS), the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, lacks an effective therapy. Stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1) and its receptor, CXCR4, play multiple roles in migration, proliferation, and survival of different tumor cells. This study aimed to investigate whether the functional SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling mediates chemotaxis in F5M2 OS cells as well as the underlying mechanisms.

Targeted delivery of CXCR4-siRNA by scFv for HER2(+) breast cancer therapy.

Therapeutics based on short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have great potential to treat human diseases. However, the clinical application of siRNAs has been limited by their poor intracellular uptake, low serum stability, and inability to target specific cells. In this study, we addressed this lack of specificity by synthesizing a molecularly targeted CXCR4-siRNA (CXCR4si) for the treatment of HER2(+) breast cancers using a HER2-scFv-arginine nonamer peptide fusion protein (e23sFv-9R) as an siRNA carrier.

Interleukin-11 receptor α is overexpressed in human osteosarcoma, and near-infrared-labeled IL-11Rα imaging agent could detect osteosarcoma in mouse tumor xenografts.

IL-11Rα is an important cytokine receptor that links oxidative stress and compensatory proliferation. Mounting evidence has demonstrated that IL-11Rα regulates autoimmune demyelination and the invasion and proliferation of cancer cells, making it an important therapeutic target for molecular targeted therapy. Moreover, overexpression of IL-11Rα indicates a poor long-term prognosis in cancer patients.

The HIF-1α/CXCR4 pathway supports hypoxia-induced metastasis of human osteosarcoma cells.

HIF-1α mediates hypoxia-induced expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and contributes to metastasis in many different cancers. We have previously shown that hypoxia promotes migration of human osteosarcoma cells by activating the HIF-1α/CXCR4 pathway. Here, immunohistochemical analysis showed that unlike control osteochondroma samples, osteosarcoma specimens were characterized by elevated expression levels of HIF-1α and CXCR4.

Establishment and characterization of a cisplatin‑resistant human osteosarcoma cell line.

The aim of the present study was to establish a new cisplatin-resistant human osteosarcoma cell line and investigate its biological characteristics. The human osteosarcoma cell line SOSP-9607 was exposed to cisplatin by stepwisely increasing the concentrations in the medium to select for the drug-resistant subline, SOSP-9607/CDDP cells. The morphological features were observed using inverted microscopy.

Hypoxia promotes migration and induces CXCR4 expression via HIF-1α activation in human osteosarcoma.

Background: Cellular adaptation to a hypoxic microenvironment is essential for tumor progression and is largely mediated by HIF-1α through coordinated regulation of hypoxia-responsive genes. The chemokine SDF-1α and its unique receptor CXCR4 have been implicated in organ-specific metastases of many cancers. In this study, we investigated the response of osteosarcoma cells to hypoxia and the expression of CXCR4 and HIF-1α in human osteosarcoma specimens and explored the roles of CXCR4 and HIF-1α in the cell migration process.

Tumor self-seeding by circulating tumor cells in nude mouse models of human osteosarcoma and a preliminary study of its mechanisms.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether and how tumor self-seeding by circulating tumor cells (CTCs) plays a role in the initiation and progression of osteosarcoma.

Methods: Two different nude mouse models of human osteosarcoma were established for detecting tumor self-seeding by fluorescently labeled CTCs. Various tumor growth indicators were quantitated for seeded and unseeded groups.

Overexpression of CXCR4 is significantly associated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy resistance and can be a prognostic factor in epithelial ovarian cancer.

The chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) plays an important role in the growth, angiogenesis and metastasis of various cancers, including epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). However, the correlation between CXCR4 and the clinical response of EOC patients to chemotherapy remains unknown. 124 EOC patients were recruited to assess the relationship between CXCR4 and the response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Mechanical strain and growth factors regulate expression of tenascin-C by OS cells additively.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a kind of malignancy wherein the tumor cells form malignant bone-like or bone tissue. Tenascin-C (TN-C), an important extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, plays an indispensable role in tumor development. However, its regulatory factors, expression, and function in OS pathological process have not been studied extensively.

MicroRNA-221 induces cell survival and cisplatin resistance through PI3K/Akt pathway in human osteosarcoma.

Background: MicroRNAs are short regulatory RNAs that negatively modulate protein expression at a post-transcriptional and/or translational level and are deeply involved in the pathogenesis of several types of cancers. Specifically, microRNA-221 (miR-221) is overexpressed in many human cancers, wherein accumulating evidence indicates that it functions as an oncogene. However, the function of miR-221 in human osteosarcoma has not been totally elucidated.

miR-34a inhibits the metastasis of osteosarcoma cells by repressing the expression of CD44.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents and approximately 30% of patients develop lung metastasis, which is the leading cause of mortality. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-34a in the invasion and metastasis of osteosarcoma cells by examining its expression level and functional pattern in these cells. miR-34a mimics were transfected into the highly metastatic subline, F5M2, and into the F4 subline with low metastatic potential of the paired human osteosarcoma cell line, SOSP‑9607.

Immunologic response to tumor ablation with irreversible electroporation.

Background: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a promising technique for the focal treatment of pathologic tissues, which involves placing minimally invasive electrodes within the targeted region. However, the knowledge about the therapeutic efficacy and immune reactions in response to IRE remains in its infancy.

Methods: In this work, to detect whether tumor ablation with IRE could trigger the immunologic response, we developed an osteosarcoma rat model and applied IRE directly to ablate the tumor.

A novel recombinant immunocasp-6 fusion gene specifically and efficiently suppresses HER2-overexpressing osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone for adolescent or children. The poor prognosis of patients, due to its remote metastasis, has led to the exploration of more effective and less toxic treatments. Immunotherapy is a promising strategy for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-overexpressing tumors.

Proteomic profiling of osteosarcoma cells identifies ALDOA and SULT1A3 as negative survival markers of human osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary malignancy of bone. Molecular mechanism underlying OSA remains to be fully elucidated. It is critical to identify reliable diagnostic and prognostic markers for OSA at the molecular levels.

miR-15a and miR-16-1 downregulate CCND1 and induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma, the most common primary tumor of the bones, causes many deaths due to its rapid proliferation and drug resistance. Recent studies have shown that cyclin D1 plays a key regulatory role during cell proliferation, and non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) act as crucial modulators of cyclin D1 (CCND1). The aim of the current study was to determine the role of miRNAs in controlling CCND1 expression and inducing cell apoptosis.

miR-183 inhibits the metastasis of osteosarcoma via downregulation of the expression of Ezrin in F5M2 cells.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone in teenagers and approximately 30% of patients develop lung metastasis, which is the leading cause of mortality. Recent studies suggest that the Ezrin protein is correlated with the metastatic potential of several malignant tumors. In our study, ectopic overexpression of miR-183 repressed the expression levels of Ezrin and significantly inhibited the motility and invasion of osteosarcoma cells.

[Effect of silencing p53 and p21 on delaying senescence of nucleus pulposus cells].

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE The senescence and death of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells are the pathologic basis of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD). To investigate the molecular phenotypes and senescent mechanism of NP cells, and to identify the method of alleviating senescence of NP cells.

Methods: The primary NP cells were harvested from male Sprague Dawley rats (8-10 weeks old); the hypoxia inducible factor 1alpha(HIF-1alpha, HIF-1beta matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), and collagen type II as phenotypic markers were identified through immunocytochemical staining.