Targeting Heme Oxygenase 2 (HO2) to Overcome Metastasis

Research Summary

Our study identifies HO2 as a crucial biomarker and therapeutic target for aggressive cancer, especially in addressing metastasis. Inhibiting HO2 with TiNIR increased reactive oxygen species, significantly reducing metastatic cancer cell proliferation and migration. Importantly, HO2 inhibition in mouse models effectively suppressed cancer metastasis, highlighting its potential to enhance cancer treatment outcomes by targeting metastatic progression.

Expected Outcomes

This study uses 3D holotomography to track and analyze real-time motility of living cancer cells, promising advancements in drug development for overcoming cancer diseases.

Related Figures

[Figure 1] Schematic representation of HO2 inhibition by TiNIR at the cellular level. Red arrows indicate the inhibition of an HO2 function by TiNIR. DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole.

[Figure 2] Inhibitory effects for single-cell movement by the HO2 inhibitor (TiNIR). (A) Time-lapse imaging of migration in live control A549 cells (top) and TiNIR-treated A549 cells (bottom). Few cells in control groups are marked with dotted lines. Note that none of the TiNIR-treated A549 cells moved outside FOV. Scale bars: 20 μm. (B) Moving distance at a certain time (dot plot, left Y axis) and cumulative distance (integrated area, right Y axis) of 2 groups. Data are shown as means ± SEM (n = 30 and 31 for control and TiNIR, respectively). (C) The ratio of “Stationary” and “Move” for each group. As written in the main text, we divided these into whether (Move) or not (Stationary) the cell migrates more than 100 μm.