Serum milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Shimagaki T
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6823494 | BioStudies | 2019-01-01
REPOSITORIES: biostudies
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Project description:Milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) is an anti-inflammatory glycoprotein that mediates a wide spectrum of pathophysiological processes. MFG-E8 has been studied as a key regulator of cancer cell invasion, migration, and proliferation in different tissues and organs. However, potential roles of MFG-E8 in the growth and progression of liver cancer have not been investigated to date. Here, we analyzed 33 human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples and found that levels of MFG-E8 expression were significantly higher in HCC cells than in normal liver tissues. In addition, our in vitro gain-of-function study in three different HCC cell lines revealed that overexpression of MFG-E8 promoted the proliferation and migration of HCC cells, as determined by RT-qPCR, MTT assays, and wound healing analyses. Conversely, an MFG-E8 loss-of function study showed that proliferation capacity was significantly reduced by MFG-E8 knockdown in HCC cells. Additionally, MFG-E8 activity-neutralizing antibodies profoundly inhibited both migration and proliferation of HCC cells, attenuating their tumorigenic properties. These reductions in migration and proliferation were rescued by treatment of HCC cells with recombinant MFG-E8 protein. Furthermore, an in vivo HCC xenograft study showed that the number of proliferating HCC cells and tumor volume/weight were all significantly increased by MFG-E8 overexpression, compared to control mice. These results clearly show that MFG-E8 plays an important role in HCC progression and may provide a basis for future mechanistic studies and new strategies for the treatment of liver cancer.
2020-01-01 | S-EPMC7072366 | BioStudies
Project description:BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is one of the major complications of type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM), leading to morbidity and mortality. Grape seed procyanidin B2 (GSPB2) has demonstrated protective effect against atherosclerosis, which is believed to be, at least in part, a result of its antioxidative effects. The aim of this study is to identify the target protein of GSPB2 responsible for the protective effect against atherosclerosis in patients with DM. METHODS AND RESULTS: GSPB2 (30 mg/kg body weight/day) were administrated to db/db mice for 10 weeks. Proteomics of the aorta extracts by iTRAQ analysis was obtained from db/db mice. The results showed that expression of 557 proteins were either up- or down-regulated in the aorta of diabetic mice. Among those proteins, 139 proteins were normalized by GSPB2 to the levels comparable to those in control mice. Among the proteins regulated by GSPB2, the milk fat globule epidermal growth factor-8 (MFG-E8) was found to be increased in serum level in T2DM patients; the serum level of MFG-E8 was positively correlated with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV). Inhibition of MFG-E8 by RNA interference significantly suppressed whereas exogenous recombinant MFG-E8 administration exacerbated atherogenesis the db/db mice. To gain more insights into the mechanism of action of MFG-E8, we investigated the effects of MFG-E8 on the signal pathway involving the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Treatment with recombinant MFG-E8 led to increased whereas inhibition of MFG-E8 to decreased expression of MCP-1 and phosphorylation of ERK1/2. CONCLUSION: Our data suggests that MFG-E8 plays an important role in atherogenesis in diabetes through both ERK and MCP-1 signaling pathways. GSPB2, a well-studied antioxidant, significantly inhibited the arterial wall changes favoring atherogenesis in db/db mice by down-regulating MFG-E8 expression in aorta and its serum level. Measuring MFG-E8 serum level could be a useful clinical surrogate prognosticating atherogenesis in DM patients.
2012-01-01 | S-EPMC3528673 | BioStudies
Project description:We searched for drugs that alleviate the reduction of dopaminergic neurons caused by the administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to the substantia nigra of the rat brain. Human milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 protein (MFG-E8) is similar to MFG-E8-S, a short isoform, of the mouse MFG-E8. However, the function of MFG-E8-S was not clear. Rats with LPS-induced Parkinson's disease were prepared and the effects of human MFG-E8 were examined. MFG-E8 improved the significant reduction in mesencephalic dopamine neurons induced by the administration of LPS. LPS was administered to human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived dopaminergic neurons to induce inflammation and the effect of MFG-E8 was examined. MFG-E8 showed no toxicity toward neurons. We reanalyzed the results using public microarray data. MFG-E8 mRNA was found to be expressed in all parts of the body, particularly by adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). Furthermore, we investigated the culture supernatant of ADSCs using the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC?MS/MS) analysis method and successfully identified the peptide of the MFG-E8 F5/8 type C domain. The results suggested that MFG-E8-S may have a preventive effect against Parkinson's disease.
2018-01-01 | S-EPMC6162645 | BioStudies
Project description:BACKGROUNDS: We previously reported a highly sensitive method for serum human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) are good markers for HCC. In this study, we verified the significance of hTERTmRNA in a large scale multi-centered trial, collating quantified values with clinical course. METHODS: In 638 subjects including 303 patients with HCC, 89 with chronic hepatitis (CH), 45 with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 201 healthy individuals, we quantified serum hTERTmRNA using the real-time RT-PCR. We examined its sensitivity and specificity in HCC diagnosis, clinical significance, ROC curve analysis in comparison with other tumor markers, and its correlations with the clinical parameters using Pearson relative test and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, we performed a prospective and comparative study to observe the change of biomarkers, including hTERTmRNA in HCC patients receiving anti-cancer therapies. RESULTS: hTERTmRNA was demonstrated to be independently correlated with clinical parameters; tumor size and tumor differentiation (P < 0.001, each). The sensitivity/specificity of hTERTmRNA in HCC diagnosis showed 90.2%/85.4% for hTERT. hTERTmRNA proved to be superior to AFP, AFP-L3, and DCP in the diagnosis and underwent an indisputable change in response to therapy. The detection rate of small HCC by hTERTmRNA was superior to the other markers. CONCLUSIONS: hTERTmRNA is superior to conventional tumor markers in the diagnosis and recurrence of HCC at an early stage.
1000-01-01 | S-EPMC2881114 | BioStudies
Project description:Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic vascular disease characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial resistance and vascular remodeling, and chronic hypoxia plays an important role in PH. Milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) is a glycoprotein that regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis, but its role in hypoxia-induced PH is unknown. The current study aimed to determine the function and fundamental mechanisms of MFG-E8 in hypoxia-induced PH. Herein, we exposed mice to hypoxia for 5 weeks, and MFG-E8 was found to be elevated in mouse lung tissues, arteries, and plasma. Compared with wild-type littermates, mice lacking MFG-E8 showed a significant increase in the ratio of pulmonary artery acceleration time to ejection time (PAT/PET), while they showed decreases in right ventricular systolic pressure, the Fulton's Index, percent medial wall thickness (%WT), and vascular muscularization in pulmonary arteries. In addition, MFG-E8 protein levels were also increased in the serum of patients with chronic PH. Similarly, we observed a higher expression of MFG-E8 in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) in the presence of hypoxic stimulation than MFG-E8 in cells in normoxic conditions. Furthermore, MFG-E8 silencing resulted in partial inhibition of proliferation, migration and cell cycle progression in human PASMCs, and the possible mechanisms might involve the interaction between MFG-E8 and the p-Akt/cyclin D1 pathway. Collectively, our study suggests that the absence of MFG-E8 can attenuate the development of hypoxia-induced PH and vascular remodeling. MFG-E8 can be a potential therapeutic target or a biomarker for PH.
2020-01-01 | S-EPMC7689852 | BioStudies
Project description:An efficient serum marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently lacking and requires intensive exploration. We aimed to evaluate the performance of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) for identifying hepatitis B virus-related HCC in a large, multicentre study in China. A total of 1034 subjects in three cohorts (A, B, and C) including HCC and various non-HCC controls were enrolled from 4 academic medical centers in China from January 2011 to February 2014. Blind parallel detections were conducted for DCP and AFP. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacies. In cohort A, which comprised 521 subjects, including patients with HCC, liver metastasis, liver cirrhosis (LC), and liver hemangiomas as well as healthy controls (HCs), the accuracy of DCP for distinguishing HCC from various controls was 6.2-9.7% higher than that of AFP. In cohort B, which comprised 447 subjects, including patients with HCC, LC, and chronic hepatitis B as well as HC, the accuracy of DCP was further elevated (12.3-20.67% higher than that of AFP). The superiority of DCP to AFP was more profound in the surveillance of early HCC [AUC 0.837 (95% CI: 0.771-0.903) vs. 0.650 (0.555-0.745)] and AFP-negative HCC [AUC: 0.856 (0.798-0.914)] and in discriminating HCC from LC (accuracy: 92.9% vs.64.71%). Higher DCP levels were associated with worse clinical behaviors and shorter disease-free survival. DCP not only is complementary to AFP in identifying AFP-negative HCC and in excluding AFP-positive non-HCC (liver cirrhosis), but also demonstrates improved performance in HCC surveillance, early diagnosis, treatment response and recurrence monitoring in the HBV-related population.
2016-01-01 | S-EPMC4829182 | BioStudies
Project description:Tumor cells secrete factors that modulate macrophage activation and polarization into M2 type tumor-associated macrophages, which promote tumor growth, progression, and metastasis. The mechanisms that mediate this polarization are not clear. Macrophages are phagocytic cells that participate in the clearance of apoptotic cells, a process known as efferocytosis. Milk fat globule- EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) is a bridge protein that facilitates efferocytosis and is associated with suppression of proinflammatory responses. This study investigated the hypothesis that MFG-E8-mediated efferocytosis promotes M2 polarization. Tissue and serum exosomes from prostate cancer patients presented higher levels of MFG-E8 compared with controls, a novel finding in human prostate cancer. Coculture of macrophages with apoptotic cancer cells increased efferocytosis, elevated MFG-E8 protein expression levels, and induced macrophage polarization into an alternatively activated M2 phenotype. Administration of antibody against MFG-E8 significantly attenuated the increase in M2 polarization. Inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation using the inhibitor Stattic decreased efferocytosis and M2 macrophage polarization in vitro, with a correlating increase in SOCS3 protein expression. Moreover, MFG-E8 knockdown tumor cells cultured with wild-type or MFG-E8-deficient macrophages resulted in increased SOCS3 expression with decreased STAT3 activation. This suggests that SOCS3 and phospho-STAT3 act in an inversely dependent manner when stimulated by MFG-E8 and efferocytosis. These results uncover a unique role of efferocytosis via MFG-E8 as a mechanism for macrophage polarization into tumor-promoting M2 cells.
1000-01-01 | S-EPMC4148880 | BioStudies
Project description:The progression from preinvasive lesion to invasive carcinoma is a critical step contributing to breast cancer lethality. We identified downregulation of milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) as a contributor to breast cancer progression using microarray analysis of laser capture microdissected (LCM) tissues. We first identified MFG-E8 downregulation in invasive lesions in transgenic mammary tumor models, which were confirmed in LCM-isolated human invasive ductal carcinomas compared with patient-matched normal tissues. In situ analyses of MFG-E8 expression in estrogen receptor (ER) positive cases confirmed its downregulation during breast cancer progression and small inhibitory MFG-E8 RNAs accelerated ER(+) breast cancer cell proliferation. MFG-E8 also decreased in erbB2(+) human cancers and erbB2 transgenic mice lacking MFG-E8 showed accelerated tumor formation. In contrast, MFG-E8 expression was present at high levels in triple-negative (ER(-), PgR(-), erbB2(-)) breast cancers, cell lines, and patient sera. Knockdown, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and reporter assays all showed that p63 regulates MFG-E8 expression, and MFG-E8 knockdowns sensitized triple-negative breast cancers to cisplatin treatment. Taken together, our results show that MFG-E8 is expressed in triple-negative breast cancers as a target gene of the p63 pathway, but may serve a suppressive function in ER(+) and erbB2(+) breast cancers. Its potential use as a serum biomarker that contributes to the pathogenesis of triple-negative breast cancers urges continued evaluation of its differential functions.
2011-01-01 | S-EPMC3074111 | BioStudies
Project description:Milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor factor 8 (MFG-E8) is secreted from macrophages and is known to induce immunological tolerance mediated by regulatory T cells. However, the roles of the MFG-E8 that is expressed by cancer cells have not yet been fully examined. Expression of MFG-E8 was examined using immunohistochemistry in surgical samples from 134 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The relationships between MFG-E8 expression levels and clinicopathological factors, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, were evaluated. High MFG-E8 expression was observed in 23.9% of the patients. The patients with tumors highly expressing MFG-E8 had a significantly higher percentage of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) history (P < .0001) and shorter relapse-free survival (P = 0.012) and overall survival (OS; P = .0047). On subgroup analysis, according to NAC history, patients with high MFG-E8 expression had significantly shorter relapse-free survival (P = .027) and OS (P = .0039) only when they had been treated with NAC. Furthermore, tumors with high MFG-E8 expression had a significantly lower ratio of CD8+ T cells/regulatory T cells in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (P = .042) only in the patients treated with NAC, and those with a lower ratio had a shorter OS (P = .026). High MFG-E8 expression was also found to be an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. The abundant MFG-E8 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma might have a negative influence on the long-term survival of patients after chemotherapy by affecting T-cell regulation in the tumor microenvironment.
1000-01-01 | S-EPMC6215892 | BioStudies
Project description:Milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8) is a protein that binds to apoptotic cells by recognizing phosphatidylserine and enhances the engulfment of apoptotic cells by macrophages. Many apoptotic cells are left unengulfed in the germinal centers of the spleen in the MFG-E8-deficient (MFG-E8(-/-)) mice, and these mice develop an autoimmune disease resembling human systemic lupus erythematosus. We found that the MFG-E8 deficiency was accompanied by the increased production of immunoglobulins. Further Western blot and ELISA analyses validated the increase in the IgM levels in the MFG-E8(-/-) mice. It was also revealed that the sera from the MFG-E8(-/-) mice cross-reacted with oxidation-specific epitopes generated upon incubation of serum albumin with the peroxidized lipids. Among the modified proteins with several unsaturated aldehydes of chain lengths varying from three to nine carbons, the MFG-E8(-/-) mice sera exclusively cross-reacted with the protein-bound 4-oxo-2-nonenal (ONE), a highly reactive aldehyde originating from the peroxidation of ?6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, the IgM monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that selectively cross-reacted with the ONE-modified proteins were generated from the MFG-E8(-/-) mice. A subset of the ONE-specific IgM mAbs significantly recognized the late apoptotic and necrotic cells and enhanced the phagocytosis by macrophages. These data demonstrate that the impairment of the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells through MFG-E8 can lead to the generation of natural antibodies, which may play a critical role in removing multiple damage-associated molecules, including oxidation-specific epitopes and late apoptotic/necrotic cells.
2013-01-01 | S-EPMC3709889 | BioStudies