Activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) pathway in osteosarcoma cells and overexpression of phosphorylated-Stat3 correlates with poor prognosis.

Stat3 expression in cancer may have important prognostic and therapeutic value, but there has been no reports correlating Stat3 expression with prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma. The goal of this study is to correlate patient prognosis with the expression of Stat3 in osteosarcoma tissue and determine the effectiveness of blocking this pathway in osteosarcoma cell lines by Stat3 inhibitor, CDDO-Me. We examine the expression levels of Stat3 and pStat3 in osteosarcoma cell lines and primary tissues by Western blot analysis. We also evaluate the levels of pStat3 expression in osteosarcoma tissue microarray (TMA) by immunohistochemistry. We use clinical data to determine the impact of levels of Stat3 expression on patient prognosis. Finally, we evaluated the effect of CDDO-Me on the inhibition of activated Stat3 pathway in osteosarcoma cell lines using MTT assay and Western blot analysis. Stat3 is observed to be activated in osteosarcoma tissues as well as in cultured cell lines. Overexpression of pStat3 is associated with poor prognosis. CDDO-Me inhibits the growth of osteosarcoma cell lines and induces apoptosis as well. Our results suggest that Stat3 may be a prognostic indicator and potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma. Blocking the pathway of Stat3 may lead to develop new therapeutic strategies against osteosarcoma.

Ryu K ，Choy E ，Yang C ，Susa M ，Hornicek FJ ，Mankin H ，Duan Z ... -  《-》

Oleanane triterpenoid CDDO-Me induces apoptosis in multidrug resistant osteosarcoma cells through inhibition of Stat3 pathway.

Ryu K ，Susa M ，Choy E ，Yang C ，Hornicek FJ ，Mankin HJ ，Duan Z ... -  《BMC CANCER》

Clinical value of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene expression in human osteosarcoma.

The dysregulation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) has been reported to be associated with tumor progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical value of STAT3 expression in human osteosarcoma. First, semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of STAT3 mRNA in normal bone tissues, chondroma tissues and osteosarcoma tissues. Then, immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of STAT3 protein in 76 osteosarcoma tissues and the relationship of STAT3 protein expression with clinicopathologic factors or prognosis of osteosarcoma patients. RNA interference (RNAi) technology was employed to inhibit STAT3 expression. MTT and flow cytometric assays were performed to analyze the effect of STAT3 inhibition on proliferation and apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. Finally, the expression of STAT3-related target genes were also determined. Results showed that osteosarcoma tissues showed significantly higher expression levels of STAT3 mRNA than normal bone or chondroma tissues (P<0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed that the staining of STAT3 protein was mainly located in cytoplasm of osteosarcoma cells in osteosarcoma tissue samples. The high level of STAT3 protein was associated with poor tumor differentiation and presentation of metastasis (P=0.039 and 0.022). Moreover, the 5-year overall and relapse-free survival rates for osteosarcoma patients with high STAT3 expression were lower than those for patients with low STAT3 expression. In addition, the status of STAT3 protein expression was an independent prognostic factor for both disease-free survival (P=0.0235) and overall survival (P=0.0032). RNAi-mediated STAT3 inhibition could induce proliferation inhibition and apoptosis enhancement in osteosarcoma cells, which might be associated with inhibition of some anti-apoptosis genes. Overall, STAT3 plays crucial roles in osteosarcoma development and might become a potential molecular target for gene therapy of human osteosarcomas.

Wang YC ，Zheng LH ，Ma BA ，Zhou Y ，Zhang MH ，Zhang DZ ，Fan QY ... -  《-》

Impact of STAT3 inhibition on survival of osteosarcoma cell lines.

Osteosarcoma is often a fatal malignancy. Constitutive STAT3 activation is associated with various human cancers and commonly suggests poor prognosis. We aimed to investigate the effect and potential molecular mechanisms of STAT3 inhibition on osteosarcoma. STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 was investigated in six osteosarcoma cell lines. Crystal violet colorimetric, clonogenic, cleaved caspase-3 assays and western blot were performed to measure the effect and mechanisms of STAT3 inhibition. All osteosarcoma cell lines expressed phosphorylated STAT3. Anti-proliferative effects of S3I-201 were dose- and time-dependent. S3I-201 also inhibited colony-formation and induced apoptosis through the caspase cleavage pathway. Finally, molecular mechanism studies suggested that down-regulation of STAT3 phosphorylation and downstream STAT3-target genes such as cyclin D1 and survivin may contribute to S3I-201-mediated anti-proliferation and apoptosis. Inhibition of STAT3 signalling suppressed osteosarcoma cell growth and induced apoptosis, and indicated that STAT3 targeted-therapy may have therapeutic potential in osteosarcoma.

Wang X ，Goldstein D ，Crowe PJ ，Yang JL ... -  《-》

Bardoxolone Methyl Suppresses Hepatitis B Virus Large Surface Protein Variant W4P-Related Carcinogenesis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Proliferation Via the Inhibition of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Signaling.

Bardoxolone methyl (CDDO-me) is a synthetic triterpenoid that has been shown to suppress various cancers and inflammation. It has been implicated for the suppression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-mediated signaling, which plays crucial roles in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previously, we showed that hepatitis B virus (HBV) large surface protein (LHB) variant W4P promotes carcinogenesis and tumor progression through STAT3 activation. Thus, we examined the anti-cancer activity of CDDO-me against HCC using W4P-LHB-expressing NIH3T3 cells and HepG2 and Huh7 HCC cell lines. CDDO-me exerted cytotoxic activity against W4P-LHB-expressing NIH3T3 cells, HepG2 cells, and Huh7 cells, and induced apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating its anti-cancer activity against HCC. Sublethal concentrations of CDDO-me suppressed STAT3 activation by W4P-LHB ectopic expression and interleukin-6 treatment in W4P-LHB-NIH3T3 and Huh7 cells respectively. The suppression of STAT3 activation by CDDO-me in W4P-LHB-NIH3T3 cells was further confirmed by decreased cyclin D1 protein levels and increased p21 and p53 mRNA synthesis. In addition, CDDO-me treatment resulted in decreased cell migration and colony formation in in vitro assays using W4P-LHB-NIH3T3, HepG2, or Huh7 cell lines, supporting its anti-cancer activity through STAT3 inhibition. Furthermore, -CDDO-me administration significantly suppressed tumor growth induced by W4P-LHB-expressing NIH3T3 cells in nude mice, confirming its anti-cancer activity. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that CDDO-me is capable of suppressing STAT3 activation in HCC cells and cells transformed by the natural variant of HBV protein. The results suggest that CDDO-me can be a potential therapeutic agent against HCC, especially tumors related to HBV mutations.

Gee MS ，Kang SB ，Kim N ，Choi J ，Kim NJ ，Kim BJ ，Inn KS ，Lee JK ... -  《-》