Cancer stem cells have been isolated from human lung cancer and cancer cell lines. This study was designed to investigate the fraction of cancer stem cells in the A549 and H446 cell lines by cloning and tumorigenic analyses. We found that >45% of A549 and H446 cells formed large clones that are able to generate subclones and subsequently give rise to xenograft tumors in the BALB/C-nude mouse. B...

BACKGROUND Our previous genome-wide gene expression analysis revealed that tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) death receptors 4 (DR4) and 5 (DR5) are markedly upregulated by the ethanolic extract of D. sohia seeds (EEDS) in A549 TRAIL-refractory cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated whether the EEDS-mediated upregulation of TRAIL death receptors was as...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) comprises an aggregate of mesenchymal cells. However, the cellular origin of these mesenchymal phenotypes remains unclear. Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) has been known as the main cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of IPF. We examined whether the potent fibrogenic cytokine TGF-beta1 could induce the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)...

Urotensin II (UII), originally identified from fish urophysis, is a potent vasoactive peptide and an endogenous ligand for an orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR14, now named as urotensin II receptor (UT-R). In this study, we investigated the mRNA and protein expressions of UII and its receptor (UT-R) in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, and the effect of exogenous UII on the proliferatio...

Lung cancer stem cell (LCSC) is critical in cancer initiation, progression, drug resistance and relapse. Disadvantages showed in conventional lung cancer therapy probably because of its existence. In this study, lung cancer cell line A549 cells propagated as spheroid bodies (named as A549 sphere cells) in growth factors-defined serum-free medium. A549 sphere cells displayed CSC properties, incl...

The present study examined the downregulation of survivin expression by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) miRNA and its effect in the inhibition of A549 cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Survivin expression, apoptosis, proliferation and migration under normoxic and hypoxic conditions were assessed by standard methods. Cotransfection and chromatin immunoprecipitation were used to observe the ...

BACKGROUND Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) is an NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase that plays an inhibitory role in cell apoptosis, which is associated with p53 deacetylation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a key virulence factor produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and plays an important role in mediating the interactions between the bacterium and its host. However, the effect of SIRT1 in the regulation of LPS-induced...

BACKGROUND Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard first-line treatment for non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs); however, the long-term therapeutic effect is reduced by chemoresistance. Brain and reproductive organ-expressed (BRE) proteins are overexpressed in several cancers and have an anti-apoptotic function. However, their biological role in the development of the chemoresistant pheno...

Hinokitiol, a natural monoterpenoid from the heartwood of Calocedrus formosana, has been reported to have anticancer effects against various cancer cell lines. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms and the inhibiting roles of hinokitiol on adenocarcinoma A549 cells remain to be fully elucidated. Thus, the current study was designed to evaluate the effect of hinokitiol on the migration of h...

Extravasation of circulating cancer cells during metastasis is thought to involve adhesion to the vascular endothelium. To characterize this process, we measured the attachment of A549 human lung carcinoma cells to monolayers of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Pretreatment of the endothelial cells with 10 ng/ml interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1) for 4 h increased cancer cell attachment...