Accumulated evidence has established that aberrant regulation of histone deacetylases (HDACs) is one of the major causes of the development of human malignancies. Among different iso-enzymes of HDAC and sirtuins grouped as the HDAC super family, little is known as to how histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) causes carcinogenesis in solid tumors. Here, in order to investigate the possible role of HDAC2 in gastric carcinogenesis, we analyzed the expression of HDAC2 in 71 gastric adenocarcinomas by immunohistochemistry. Moderate to strong expression of HDAC2 was found in 44 (62%) out of a total of 71 tumors. The majority of positive tumors, which were detected in the nucleus but not in normal gastric epithelium, did not express HDAC2 or showed only weak positive staining. Interestingly, we also noted that HDAC2 expression appeared to be associated with tumor aggressiveness as HDAC2 expression was observed to be statistically significant in advanced gastric cancer (P=0.0023, Chi-square test) and in positive lymph node metastasis (P=0.0713, Chi-square test). Taken together, these results suggest that HDAC2 may play an important role in the aggressiveness of gastric cancer.

H2A.Z is a highly conserved H2A variant, and two distinct H2A.Z isoforms, H2A.Z.1 and H2A.Z.2, have been identified as products of two non-allelic genes, H2AFZ and H2AFV. H2A.Z has been reported to be overexpressed in breast, prostate and bladder cancers, but most studies did not clearly distinguish between isoforms. One recent study reported a unique role for the H2A.Z isoform H2A.Z.2 as a driver of malignant melanoma. Here we first report that H2A.Z.1 plays a pivotal role in the liver tumorigenesis by selectively regulating key molecules in cell cycle and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). H2AFZ expression was significantly overexpressed in a large cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and high expression of H2AFZ was significantly associated with their poor prognosis. H2A.Z.1 overexpression was demonstrated in a subset of human HCC and cell lines. H2A.Z.1 knockdown suppressed HCC cell growth by transcriptional deregulation of cell cycle proteins and caused apoptotic cell death of HCC cells. We also observed that H2A.Z.1 knockdown reduced the metastatic potential of HCC cells by selectively modulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulatory proteins such as E-cadherin and fibronectin. In addition, H2A.Z.1 knockdown reduced the in vivo tumor growth rate in a mouse xenograft model. In conclusion, our findings suggest the oncogenic potential of H2A.Z.1 in liver tumorigenesis and that it plays established role in accelerating cell cycle transition and EMT during hepatocarcinogenesis. This makes H2A.Z.1 a promising target in liver cancer therapy.

The Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway regulates various aspects of development and plays important role in human carcinogenesis. Nemo-like kinase (NLK), which is mediator of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, phosphorylates T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF/LEF) factor and inhibits interaction of beta-catenin/TCF complex. Although, NLK is known to be a tumor suppressor in Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway of colon cancer, the other events occurring downstream of NLK pathways in other types of cancer remain unclear. In the present study, we identified that expression of NLK was significantly up-regulated in the HCCs compared to corresponding normal tissues in five selected tissue samples. Immunohistochemical analysis showed significant over-expression of NLK in the HCCs. Targeted-disruption of NLK suppressed cell growth and arrested cell cycle transition. Suppression of NLK elicited anti-mitogenic properties of the Hep3B cells by simultaneous inhibition of cyclinD1 and CDK2. The results of this study suggest that NLK is aberrantly regulated in HCC, which might contribute to the mitogenic potential of tumor cells during the initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma; this process appears to involve the induction of CDK2 and cyclin D1 and might provide a novel target for therapeutic intervention in patients with liver cancer.

Excitotoxicity and oxidative stress mediate neuronal death after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. We examined the possibility that targeting both N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated excitotoxicity and oxidative stress would result in enhanced neuroprotection against hypoxicischemia. 2-Hydroxy-5-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-trifluoromethyl-benzylamino)-benzoic acid (Neu2000) was derived from aspirin and sulfasalazine to prevent both NMDA neurotoxicity and oxidative stress. In cortical cell cultures, Neu2000 was shown to be an uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist and completely blocked free radical toxicity at doses as low as 0.3 lmol/L. Neu2000 showed marked neuroprotection in a masked fashion using histology and behavioral testing in two rodent models of focal cerebral ischemia without causing neurotoxic side effects. Neu2000 protected against the effects of middle cerebral artery occlusion, even when delivered 8 h after reperfusion. Single bolus administration of the drug prevented gray and white matter degeneration and spared neurologic function for over 28 days after MACO. Neu2000 may be a novel therapy for combating both NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity and oxidative stress, the two major routes of neuronal death in ischemia, offering profound neuroprotection and an extended therapeutic window.

No abstract