PURPOSE: Our previous high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry study identified bladder cancer (BCA)-specific urine metabolites, including carnitine, acylcarnitines, and melatonin. The objective of the current study was to determine which metabolic pathways are perturbed in BCA, based on our previously identified urinary metabolome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 135 primary BCA samples and 26 control tissue samples from healthy volunteers were analyzed. The association between specific urinary metabolites and their related encoding genes was analyzed. RESULTS: Significant alterations in the carnitine-acylcarnitine and tryptophan metabolic pathways were detected in urine specimens from BCA patients compared to those of healthy controls. The expression of eight genes involved in the carnitine-acylcarnitine metabolic pathway (CPT1A, CPT1B, CPT1C, CPT2, SLC25A20, and CRAT) or tryptophan metabolism (TPH1 and IDO1) was assessed by RT-PCR in our BCA cohort (n=135). CPT1B, CPT1C, SLC25A20, CRAT, TPH1, and IOD1 were significantly downregulated in tumor tissues compared to normal bladder tissues (p<0.05 all) of patients with non-muscle invasive BCA, whereas CPT1B, CPT1C, CRAT, and TPH1 were downregulated in those with muscle invasive BCA (p<0.05), with no changes in IDO1 expression. CONCLUSION: Alterations in the expression of genes associated with the carnitine-acylcarnitine and tryptophan metabolic pathways, which were the most perturbed pathways in BCA, were determined.
Aged ; Biomarkers/metabolism ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/genetics/*metabolism/pathology ; Carnitine/*analogs & derivatives/genetics/metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways/*physiology ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics/*metabolism/pathology

Bmi1 is a member of the polycomb group family of proteins, and it drives the carcinogenesis of various cancers and governs the self-renewal of multiple types of stem cells. However, its role in the initiation and progression of bladder cancer is not clearly known. The present study aimed to investigate the function of Bmi1 in the development of bladder cancer. Bmi1 expression was detected in human bladder cancer tissues and their adjacent normal tissues (n=10) by immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Bmi1 small interference RNA (siRNA) was synthesized and transfected into human bladder carcinoma cells (EJ) by lipofectamine 2000. The Bmil expression at mRNA and protein levels was measured in EJ cells transfected with Bmil siRNA (0, 80, 160 nmol/L) by qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Cell viability and Ki67 expression (a marker of cell proliferation) were determined in Bmi1 siRNA-transfected cells by CCK-8 assay and qRT-PCR, respectively. Cell cycle of transfected cells was flow-cytometrically determined. Immunofluorescence and Western blotting were used to detect the expression levels of cell cycle-associated proteins cyclin D1 and cyclin E in the cells. Pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase 3 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 were detected by Western blotting as well. Additionally, xenograft tumor models were established by inoculation of EJ cells (infected with Bmil shRNA/pLKO.1 lentivirus or not) into nude mice. The tumor volumes were measured every other day for 14 days. The results showed that the Bmil expression was significantly increased in bladder tumor tissues when compared with that in normal tissues (P<0.05). Perturbation of Bmi1 expression by using siRNA could significantly inhibit the proliferation of EJ cells (P<0.05). Bmi1 siRNA-transfected EJ cells were accumulated in G1 phase and the expression levels of cyclin D1 and cyclin E were down-regulated. Bax and caspase-3 expression levels were significantly increased and Bcl-2 levels decreased after Bmi1 knockdown. Tumor volume was conspicuously reduced in mice injected with EJ cells with Bmi1 knockdown. Our findings indicate that Bmi1 is a potential driver oncogene of bladder cancer and it may become a potential treatment target for human bladder cancer.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; genetics ; Carcinogenesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Caspase 3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclin D1 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cyclin E ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Ki-67 Antigen ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Tumor Burden ; Urinary Bladder ; metabolism ; pathology ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; agonists ; genetics ; metabolism

PURPOSE: To compare the expression of survivin and its association with clinicopathological criteria in major types of urinary bladder carcinoma, specifically, transitional cell carcinoma with and without squamous differentiation and squamous cell carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining for survivin and Ki67 was performed on paraffin-embedded sections of 104 carcinomas: 52 transitional cell carcinoma, 20 transitional cell carcinoma with squamous differentiation, and 32 squamous cell carcinoma. Expression of survivin in >10% of tumor cells was described as altered survivin status. Ki67 staining in >20% of tumor cells was described as a high proliferation index. RESULTS: Altered survivin expression was detected in 60/104 specimens (58%) and was significantly more frequent in transitional cell carcinoma (78%) than in squamous cell carcinoma (38%) or transitional cell carcinoma with squamous differentiation (40%) (p<0.0001). In transitional cell carcinoma but not in squamous cell carcinoma, altered survivin status was associated with higher tumor grade, higher proliferation index, and recurrence. In the whole specimens, altered survivin expression was significantly associated with advanced stage (p<0.001), recurrence (p=0.005), distant metastasis (p<0.001), and death (p=0.001). In the multivariate analysis, altered survivin was an independent poor prognostic factor for recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike in transitional cell carcinoma, alteration of survivin expression in squamous cell carcinoma occurs less frequently and is not associated with features of tumor aggression or patient outcome. These findings raise a question: are urinary bladder carcinoma patients with squamous cell carcinoma type suitable candidates for survivin vaccine? This is an important question to be answered before approving the vaccine in management.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/*genetics ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/*genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins/genetics/*metabolism ; Ki-67 Antigen/metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Treatment Outcome ; Tumor Markers, Biological ; Urinary Bladder/pathology ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*genetics

We investigated how the dual inhibition of the molecular mechanism of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) downstreams, P70S6 kinase (P70S6K) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), can lead to a suppression of the proliferation and progression of urothelial carcinoma (UC) in an orthotopic mouse non-muscle invasive bladder tumor (NMIBT) model. A KU-7-luc cell intravesically instilled orthotopic mouse NMIBC model was monitored using bioluminescence imaging (BLI) in vivo by interfering with different molecular components using rapamycin and siRNA technology. We then analyzed the effects on molecular activation status, cell growth, proliferation, and progression. A high concentration of rapamycin (10 microM) blocked both P70S6K and elF4E phosphorylation and inhibited cell proliferation in the KU-7-luc cells. It also reduced cell viability and proliferation more than the transfection of siRNA against p70S6K or elF4E. The groups with dual p70S6K and elF4E siRNA, and rapamycin reduced tumor volume and lamina propria invasion more than the groups with p70S6K or elF4E siRNA instillation, although all groups reduced photon density compared to the control. These findings suggest that both the mTOR pathway downstream of eIF4E and p70S6K can be successfully inhibited by high dose rapamycin only, and p70S6K and Elf4E dual inhibition is essential to control bladder tumor growth and progression.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects/genetics ; Cell Survival/drug effects ; Disease Progression ; Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E/*antagonists & inhibitors/genetics ; Female ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Mucous Membrane/pathology ; Phosphorylation/drug effects ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa/*antagonists & inhibitors/genetics ; Signal Transduction/drug effects ; Sirolimus/*pharmacology ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/*antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics/*pathology ; Urothelium/pathology

We investigated how the dual inhibition of the molecular mechanism of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) downstreams, P70S6 kinase (P70S6K) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), can lead to a suppression of the proliferation and progression of urothelial carcinoma (UC) in an orthotopic mouse non-muscle invasive bladder tumor (NMIBT) model. A KU-7-luc cell intravesically instilled orthotopic mouse NMIBC model was monitored using bioluminescence imaging (BLI) in vivo by interfering with different molecular components using rapamycin and siRNA technology. We then analyzed the effects on molecular activation status, cell growth, proliferation, and progression. A high concentration of rapamycin (10 microM) blocked both P70S6K and elF4E phosphorylation and inhibited cell proliferation in the KU-7-luc cells. It also reduced cell viability and proliferation more than the transfection of siRNA against p70S6K or elF4E. The groups with dual p70S6K and elF4E siRNA, and rapamycin reduced tumor volume and lamina propria invasion more than the groups with p70S6K or elF4E siRNA instillation, although all groups reduced photon density compared to the control. These findings suggest that both the mTOR pathway downstream of eIF4E and p70S6K can be successfully inhibited by high dose rapamycin only, and p70S6K and Elf4E dual inhibition is essential to control bladder tumor growth and progression.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects/genetics ; Cell Survival/drug effects ; Disease Progression ; Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E/*antagonists & inhibitors/genetics ; Female ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Mucous Membrane/pathology ; Phosphorylation/drug effects ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa/*antagonists & inhibitors/genetics ; Signal Transduction/drug effects ; Sirolimus/*pharmacology ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/*antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics/*pathology ; Urothelium/pathology

We performed gene expression profiling in bladder cancer patients to identify cancer-specific survival-related genes in muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients. Sixty-two patients with MIBC were selected as the original cohort and another 118 MIBC patients were chosen as a validation cohort. The expression of USP18, DGCR2, and ZNF699 genes were measured and we analyzed the association between gene signatures and survival. USP18 and DGCR2, were significantly correlated to cancer-specific death (P=0.020, P=0.007, respectively). Cancer-specific survival in the low USP18 or DGCR2 expression group was significantly longer than the high expression group (P=0.018, P=0.006, respectively). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, a combination of USP18 and DGCR2 mRNA expression levels were significant risk factors for cancer-specific death (HR, 2.106; CI, 1.043-4.254, P=0.038). Overall survival and cancer-specific survival rates in the low-combination group were significantly longer than those in the high-expression group (P=0.001, both). In conclusion, decreased expressions of USP18 and DGCR2 were significantly associated with longer cancer-specific survival, and also the combination of two genes was correlated to a longer survival for MIBC patients. Thus, the combination of USP18 and DGCR2 expression was shown to be a reliable prognostic marker for cancer-specific survival in MIBC.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biological Markers/metabolism ; Carrier Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Endopeptidases/genetics/*metabolism ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Neoplasms/*secondary ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Staging ; Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex/genetics/*metabolism ; Predictive Value of Tests ; ROC Curve ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*diagnosis/metabolism/*mortality/pathology

We established an orthotopic non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) mouse model expressing the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. After intravesical instillation of KU-7-lucs (day 0), animals were subsequently monitored by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) on days 4, 7, 14, and 21, and performed histopathological examination. We also validated the orthotopic mouse model expressing the mTOR signaling pathway immunohistochemically. In vitro BLI photon density was correlated with KU-7-luc cell number (r2 = 0.97, P < 0.01) and in vivo BLI photon densities increased steadily with time after intravesical instillation. The tumor take rate was 84.2%, formed initially on day 4 and remained NMIBC up to day 21. T1 photon densities were significantly higher than Ta (P < 0.01), and histological tumor volume was positively correlated with BLI photon density (r2 = 0.87, P < 0.01). The mTOR signaling pathway-related proteins were expressed in the bladder, and were correlated with the western blot results. Our results suggest successful establishment of an orthotopic mouse NMIBC model expressing the mTOR signaling pathway using KU-7-luc cells. This model is expected to be helpful to evaluate preclinical testing of intravesical therapy based on the mTOR signaling pathway against NMIBC.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Genes, Reporter ; Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Luciferases, Firefly/genetics ; Luminescent Measurements ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Staging ; *Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/*metabolism ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*metabolism/pathology/veterinary

PURPOSE: Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) inhibits the growth of bladder cancer cells and this effect is prominent and constant in 253J bladder cancer cells. We performed a microarray analysis to search for genes that were altered after TGF-beta1 treatment to understand the growth inhibitory action of TGF-beta1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 253J bladder cancer cells were exposed to TGF-beta1 and total RNA was extracted at 6, 24, and 48 hours after exposure. The RNA was hybridized onto a human 22K oligonucleotide microarray and the data were analyzed by using GeneSpring 7.1. RESULTS: In the microarray analysis, a total of 1,974 genes showing changes of more than 2.0 fold were selected. The selected genes were further subdivided into five highly cohesive clusters with high probability according to the time-dependent expression pattern. A total of 310 genes showing changes of more than 2.0 fold in repeated arrays were identified by use of simple t-tests. Of these genes, those having a known function were listed according to clusters. Microarray analysis showed increased expression of molecules known to be related to Smad-dependent signal transduction, such as SARA and Smad4, and also those known to be related to the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, such as MAPKK1 and MAPKK4. CONCLUSIONS: A list of genes showing significantly altered expression profiles after TGF-beta1 treatment was made according to five highly cohesive clusters. The data suggest that the growth inhibitory effect of TGF-beta1 in bladder cancer may occur through the Smad-dependent pathway, possibly via activation of the extracellular signal-related kinase 1 and Jun amino-terminal kinases Mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.
Antineoplastic Agents/*pharmacology ; Cluster Analysis ; Gene Expression Profiling/methods ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/*drug effects ; Genes, Neoplasm ; Humans ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects/genetics ; Neoplasm Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis/methods ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods ; Signal Transduction/drug effects/genetics ; Smad Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/*pharmacology ; Tumor Cells, Cultured/drug effects ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*genetics/metabolism/pathology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains 3 (LRIG3) on the biological features of bladder cancer cell lines. The plasmids of over-expressed LRIG3 and the blank plasmid serving as control were transfected into the bladder cancer cell lines, T24, EJ and BIU-87, and the expression levels of LRIG3 mRNA and protein were detected by using real-time PCR and Western blotting. The changes in the cell cycle and apoptosis were examined by using flow cytometry. The invasive ability was measured by Transwell assay, and CCK-8 assays were used to measure the proliferation of cells. As compared with the control group, the LRIG3 mRNA and protein expression levels in LRIG3 cDNA-transfected group were raised significantly (P<0.05). The average number of cells with up-regulated LRIG3 passing through the inserted filter was decreased significantly as compared with the control group (P<0.05). Up-regulation of LRIG3 also could inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of T24, EJ and BIU-87 cells. Except BIU-87, the T24 and EJ cells transfected with LIRG3 cDNA were arrested in G(0)/G(1) phase compared to the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the over-expression of LRIG3 could influence the cell cycle and invasion, inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in the three bladder cancer cell lines.
Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Up-Regulation ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo analyze the transcription factor binding sites and methylation in the promoter region of UCA1 gene.

METHODSUCA1 gene promoter was analyzed using CpG software to predict the CpG island. MatrixCatch and TFSEARCH were used to predict the potential transcription factor binding sites in UCA1 gene core promoter. ChIP assay was used to identify the transcription factors binding to UCA1 gene core promoter.

RESULTSUCA1 gene promoter contained no CpG island and was therefore a typical tissue-specific gene. There were 4 transcription factors associated with human cancers in UCA1 gene core promoter, but only one of them interacted with UCA1 gene core promoter.

CONCLUSIONThere is no CpG island in UCA1 gene promoter region, and the transcription factor c-Myb can specifically bind to the core promoter.

Binding Sites ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Computational Biology ; CpG Islands ; genetics ; Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein ; genetics ; DNA Methylation ; Humans ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Long Noncoding ; genetics ; Software ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology