IL-1β Promotes A7r5 and HASMC Migration and Invasion via the p38-MAPK/Ang2 Pathway

Background: The migration, proliferation, and inflammatory factor secretion of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are involved in the important pathological processes of several vascular occlusive diseases, including coronary atherosclerosis (CAS). IL-1β, as a bioactive mediator of VSMC synthesis and secretion, can promote the pathological progress of CAS. In this study, we further explored the underlying molecular mechanisms by which IL-1β regulates VSMC migration, invasion.Methods: We pretreated A7r5 and HASMC with IL-1β for 24 hours, and measured the expression of IL-1β, PCNA, cyclin D1, MMP2 and MMP9 in the cells by Western blotting. Cell migration and invasion ability were measured by Transwell and wound healing assays. Cell viability was measured by an MTT assay. Results: We found that IL-1β up-regulated the expression of proliferation-related proteins (PCNA and Cyclin D1) in A7r5 and HASMC, and induces the secretion of MMP2 and MMP9, promotes cell invasion and migration. In addition, in A7r5 and HASMCs treated with IL-1β, the expression of Ang2 increased in a time-dependent manner, transfection with si-Ang2 suppressed cell migration and invasion, with down-regulated MMP2 and MMP9 expression. In parallely, we further found that the p38-MAPK pathway is activated in cells induced by IL-1β, p38-MAPK inhibitors can down-regulate the expression of Ang2. Conclusions: These data demonstrated that IL-1β promotes A7r5 and HASMC migration and invasion via the p38-MAPK/Ang2 pathway.

A high-throughput 3D bioprinted cancer cell migration and invasion model with versatile and broad biological applicability

Understanding the underlying mechanisms of migration and metastasis is a key focus of cancer research. There is an urgent need to develop in vitro 3D tumor models that can mimic physiological cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions, with high reproducibility and that are suitable for high throughput (HTP) drug screening. Here, we developed a HTP 3D bioprinted migration model using a bespoke drop-on-demand bioprinting platform. This HTP platform coupled with tunable hydrogel systems enables (i) the rapid encapsulation of cancer cells within in vivo tumor mimicking matrices, (ii) in situ and real-time measurement of cell movement, (iii) detailed molecular analysis for the study of mechanisms underlying cell migration and invasion, and (iv) the identification of novel therapeutic options. This work demonstrates that this HTP 3D bioprinted cell migration platform has broad applications across quantitative cell and cancer biology as well as drug screening.

ARHGAP11A Promotes the Malignant Progression of Gastric Cancer by Regulating the Stability of Actin Filaments through TPM1

The mechanism underlying the poor prognosis of gastric cancer, including its high degree of malignancy, invasion, and metastasis, is extremely complicated. Rho GTPases are involved in the occurrence and development of a variety of malignant tumors. ARHGAP11A, in the Rho GTPase activating protein family, is highly expressed in gastric cancer, but its function and mechanism have not yet been explored. In this study, the effect of ARHGAP11A on the occurrence and development of gastric cancer and the mechanism related to this effect were studied. The expression of ARHGAP11A was increased in gastric cancer cells and tissues, and high ARHGAP11A expression in tissues was related to the degree of tumor differentiation and poor prognosis. Moreover, ARHGAP11A knockout significantly inhibited cell proliferation, cell migration, and invasion in vitro and significantly inhibited the tumorigenic ability of gastric cancer cells in nude mice in vivo. Further studies revealed that ARHGAP11A promotes the malignant progression of gastric cancer cells by interacting with TPM1 to affect cell migration and invasion and the stability of actin filaments. These results suggest that ARHGAP11A plays an important role in gastric cancer and may become a useful prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for gastric cancer patients.

MiR-375 Enriched in Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSC) Exosomes Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Down-Regulating Trefoil Factor 3 (TFF3)

To study the effect and mechanism of miR-375 enriched in BMSC exosomes on prostate cancer (PC) cells. Bioinformatics assessed the potential regulatory miRNA of TFF3 and miR-375 level in breast cancer cells and breast cancer clinical samples was detected by PCR. Dual luciferase assay validated the relationship between TFF3 and miR-375. miR-375 mimics or sh-TFF3 was transfected into PC cells, followed by measuring miR-375 and TFF3 by PCR and Western-blot. Cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis by Edu staining, transwell and flow cytometry. The BMSC exosomes were then isolated and co-cultured with PC cells to detect cell proliferation and invasion. PC cells and tissues showed the expression of miR-375 was decreased, indicated that miR-375 specifically inhibited TFF3 level. miR-375 was enriched in MSC-derived exosomes and could be transferred to PC cells. miR-375 mimics, exosome miR-375 or silenced TFF3 inhibited TFF3 level, up-regulated PCNA, MMP-2/9 expression, thereby inhibiting cell proliferation and metastasis, and promoting cell apoptosis. miR-375 is enriched in BMSC exosomes and inhibits PC cell migration and invasion by reducing TFF3.