Berberine is a natural compound found in several herbs. Anticancer activity of berberine was reported in several cancers, however, little is known regarding the effects of berberine against cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). In this study, the growth inhibitory effects of berberine on CCA cell lines and its molecular mechanisms were explored. Cell growth and cell cycle distribution were examined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry. The expression levels of cell cycle regulatory proteins were determined by Western blot analysis. Berberine significantly inhibited growth of CCA cell lines in a dose and time dependent fashion. The inhibition was largely attributed to cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase through the reduction of cyclin D1, and cyclin E. Moreover, berberine could reduce the expression and activation of signal transducers and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and probably nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) via suppression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 action. These results highlight the potential of berberine to be a multi-target agent for CCA treatment.

Opisthorchis viverrini (O. viverrini) is a well-known causative agent of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) in humans. CCA is very resistant to chemotherapy and is frequently fatal. To understand the pathogenesis of CCA in humans, a rodent model was developed. However, the development of CCA in rodents is time-consuming and the xenograft-transplantation model of human CCA in immunodeficient mice is costly. Therefore, the establishment of an in vivo screening model for O. viverrini-associated CCA treatment was of interest. We developed a hamster CCA cell line, Ham-1, derived from the CCA tissue of O. viverrini-infected and N-nitrosodimethylamine-treated Syrian golden hamsters. Ham-1 has been maintained in Dulbecco's Modified Essential Medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum for more than 30 subcultures. These cells are mostly diploid (2n=44) with some being polyploid. Tumorigenic properties of Ham-1 were demonstrated by allograft transplantation in hamsters. The transplanted tissues were highly proliferative and exhibited a glandular-like structure retaining a bile duct marker, cytokeratin 19. The usefulness of this for in vivo model was demonstrated by berberine treatment, a traditional medicine that is active against various cancers. Growth inhibitory effects of berberine, mainly by an induction of G1 cell cycle arrest, were observed in vitro and in vivo. In summary, we developed the allo-transplantable hamster CCA cell line, which can be used for chemotherapeutic drug testing in vitro and in vivo.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a lethal malignancy of the biliary epithelium, is the second most common primary liver cancer. The poor prognosis of CCA is due to the high rate of tumour invasion and distant metastasis. We found that the RNA-binding protein LIN28B, a known regulator of microRNA biogenesis, stem cell maintenance, and oncogenesis, is expressed in a subpopulation of CCA patients. To further investigate the potential role of LIN28B in CCA pathogenesis, we studied the effect of LIN28B overexpression in the cholangiocyte cell line MMNK-1 and cholangiocarcinoma cell lines HuCCT-1 and KKU-214. Here, we show that enhanced LIN28B expression promoted cancer stem cell-like properties in CCA, including enhanced cell migration, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), increased cell proliferation and spheroid formation. Proteomic analysis revealed TGF-β-induced protein (TGFBI) as a novel LIN28B target gene, and further analysis showed upregulation of other components of the TGF-β signalling pathway, including TGF-β receptor type I (TGFBRI) expression and cytokine TGFB-I, II and III secretion. Importantly, the small molecule TGF-β inhibitor SB431542 negated the effects of LIN28B on both cell migration and clonogenic potential. Overexpression of TGFBI alone promoted cholangiocarcinoma cell migration and EMT changes, but not spheroid formation, suggesting that TGFBI partially contributes to LIN28B-mediated aggressive cell behaviour. These observations are consistent with a model in which TGF-β and LIN28B work together to form a positive feedback loop during cholangiocarcinoma metastasis and provide a therapeutic intervention opportunity.

Background: LIN28B is functionally driving malignant transformation and relevance to the worse disease outcomes by promoting cancer aggressiveness. However, a typical role of LIN28B in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is primarily unknown. In this study, the tumorigenic potential of LIN28B in the cholangiocyte context was investigated. Methods: Stable LIN28B expression in MMNK-1 cells was generated by infecting with retrovirus-containing LIN28B gene. LIN28B-overexpressing cells were further validated the amount of released cytokines by using human cytokine arrays. After treatment of chemo-drugs, cell viability was subsequently measured using MTT assay. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity was determined using ALDEFLUOR assay Kit and analyzed by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression levels were respectively assayed by RT-qPCR and western blot. Results: Cytokine release results showed that numerous inflammatory cytokines-chemokines related to cancer initiation and development, such as IL-8, IL-6, VEGF, MCP1, TNF-α were significantly increased in LIN28B-overexpressing MMNK-1 cells. Drug sensitivity test showed that LIN28B-overexpressing MMNK-1 treated cells had a high percentage of cell viability compared to MMNK-1-control treated cells. Activity and expression level of a cancer stem cell marker, ALDH was significantly elevated in LIN28B-overexpressing MMNK-1 cells. Moreover, the activation of an oncogenic signaling pathway, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was enhanced in LIN28B-overexpressing MMNK-1 cells. Whereas, growth capacity of LIN28B-overexpressing MMNK-1 cells was found to be reduced in STAT3 inhibition. Conclusion: LIN28B can regulate the inflammatory response and resistance to chemotherapy of cholangiocytes through modulation of STAT3 signaling pathway.A recent study suggests that activated cholangiocytes can be induced by regulation of LIN28B/STAT3 pathway and this may partially contribute to the initiating CCA. Here, LIN28B and its downstream signaling could be considered as an attractive therapeutic target in patients with CCA.