Jung Seung-Nam, Oh Chan, Chang Jae Won, Liu Lihua, Lim Mi Ae, Jin Yan Li, Piao Yudan, Kim Hae Jong, Won Ho-Ryun, Lee Seong Eun, Lee Min Joung, Heo Jun Young, Jun Sangmi, Lee Doheon, Kang Woo Seok, Kim Dae-Woong, Rha Ki-Sang, Kim Young Il, Kang Yea Eun, Koo Bon Seok
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 35015, Korea.
Department of Medical Science, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 35015, Korea.
Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jan 19;13(2):351. doi: 10.3390/cancers13020351.
(1) Background: Nonthermal plasma (NTP) induces cell death in various types of cancer cells, providing a promising alternative treatment strategy. Although recent studies have identified new mechanisms of NTP in several cancers, the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effect on thyroid cancer (THCA) have not been elucidated. (2) Methods: To investigate the mechanism of NTP-induced cell death, THCA cell lines were treated with NTP-activated medium -(NTPAM), and gene expression profiles were evaluated using RNA sequencing. (3) Results: NTPAM upregulated the gene expression of early growth response 1 (). NTPAM-induced THCA cell death was enhanced by EGR1 overexpression, whereas EGR1 small interfering RNA had the opposite effect. NTPAM-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) affected EGR1 expression and apoptotic cell death in THCA. NTPAM also induced the gene expression of growth arrest and regulation of DNA damage-inducible 45α () gene, and EGR1 regulated through direct binding to its promoter. In xenograft in vivo tumor models, NTPAM inhibited tumor progression of THCA by increasing EGR1 levels. (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest that NTPAM induces apoptotic cell death in THCA through a novel mechanism by which NTPAM-induced ROS activates EGR1/GADD45α signaling. Furthermore, our data provide evidence that the regulation of the EGR1/GADD45α axis can be a novel strategy for the treatment of THCA.
(1) 背景:非热等离子体(NTP)可诱导多种癌细胞发生细胞死亡,为癌症治疗提供了一种有前景的替代策略。尽管最近的研究已在几种癌症中发现了NTP的新机制,但其对甲状腺癌(THCA)治疗作用的分子机制尚未阐明。(2) 方法:为研究NTP诱导细胞死亡的机制,用NTP激活培养基(NTPAM)处理THCA细胞系,并通过RNA测序评估基因表达谱。(3) 结果:NTPAM上调早期生长反应1(EGR1)的基因表达。EGR1过表达增强了NTPAM诱导的THCA细胞死亡,而EGR1小干扰RNA则产生相反作用。NTPAM产生的活性氧(ROS)影响THCA中EGR1的表达和凋亡性细胞死亡。NTPAM还诱导生长停滞和DNA损伤诱导45α(GADD45α)基因的表达,且EGR1通过直接结合其启动子来调控GADD45α。在体内异种移植肿瘤模型中,NTPAM通过提高EGR1水平抑制THCA的肿瘤进展。(4) 结论:我们的研究结果表明,NTPAM通过一种新机制诱导THCA细胞凋亡性死亡,即NTPAM诱导的ROS激活EGR1/GADD45α信号通路。此外,我们的数据证明EGR1/GADD45α轴的调控可能是治疗THCA的一种新策略。