MiR-25 promotes ovarian cancer proliferation and motility by targeting LATS2

Interleukin-23 Facilitates Thyroid Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Inhibiting SOCS4 Expression via MicroRNA-25

Interleukin–23 (IL–23) is a conventional proinflammatory cytokine that plays a role in tumor progression by inducing inflammation in the tumor microenvironment. However, the role of IL–23 in thyroid cancer migration and invasion remains unclear. In the present study, we observed that the treatment with IL–23, induced migration and invasion in human thyroid cancer cells. Additional data demonstrate that SOCS4 negatively regulates IL-23-mediated migration and invasion. On investigating the mechanisms involved in IL–23 mediated migration and invasion, we observed that miR–25 promotes the migration and invasion of thyroid cancer cells by directly binding to the 3′-UTR of SOCS4 that leads to the inhibition of SOCS4. In addition, we also demonstrated that IL–23 increases miR–25 expression levels, and overexpressed miR–25 is involved in IL-23-associated SOCS4 inhibition and cell migration and invasion. Together, our data suggest that IL–23 induces migration and invasion in thyroid cancer cells by mediating the miR–25/SOCS4 signaling pathway.

Two Different Serum MiRNA Signatures Correlate with the Clinical Outcome and Histological Subtype in Pleural Malignant Mesothelioma Patients

Pleural malignant mesothelioma (MPM) is a detrimental neoplasm affecting pleural sheets and determining a high rate of mortality. In this study, we have enrolled 14 consecutive patients (13 males and 1 female) with MPM (mean age: 70.3 ± 4.6 years). We have collected serum for the determination of a miRNA profiling using a low-density microarray real time PCR system in the serum of patients and comparing it with that one of 10 control counterparts affected by not-cancer-related pleural effusions. In the patients 5 miRNAs were up-regulated (miR101, miR25, miR26b, miR335 and miR433), 2 miRNA were downregulated (miR191, miR223) and two miRNAs were expressed exclusively in patients (miR29a and miR516). Based upon the changes in the expression of the above mentioned miRNAs we detected two distinctive miRNA signatures predicting histotype and survival in these patients: I) patients with more than 3/9 upregulated miRNAs or 3/9 upregulated miRNAs and miR516 not recordable or unchanged (signature A); II) patients with at least 3/9 downregulated or unchanged miRNAs and/or miR29a downregulated (signature B). Based upon these criteria, 5 patients were stratified in signature A and the remaining 9 in signature B. Patients with signature A had a significant shorter median survival than those with signature B (7 months vs. 17 months, 95% CI: 0.098-1.72, p = 0.0021), had a sarcomatoid or mixed histological MPM subtype and were diagnosed in stage II (3/5) and stage III (2/5). In conclusion, we suggest that miRNA signature A is predictive of sarcomatoid histotype and of worse prognosis in MPM.

Small molecules targeting microRNA for cancer therapy: Promises and obstacles

Aberrant expression of miRNAs is critically implicated in cancer initiation and progression. Therapeutic approaches focused on regulating miRNAs are therefore a promising approach for treating cancer. Antisense oligonucleotides, miRNA sponges, and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing systems are being investigated as tools for regulating miRNAs. Despite the accruing insights in the use of these tools, delivery concerns have mitigated clinical application of such systems. In contrast, little attention has been given to the potential of small molecules to modulate miRNA expression for cancer therapy. In these years, many researches proved that small molecules targeting cancer-related miRNAs might have greater potential for cancer treatment. Small molecules targeting cancer related miRNAs showed significantly promising results in different cancer models. However, there are still several obstacles hindering the progress and clinical application in this area. This review discusses the development, mechanisms and application of small molecules for modulating oncogenic miRNAs (oncomiRs). Attention has also been given to screening technologies and perspectives aimed to facilitate clinical translation for small molecule-based miRNA therapeutics.

miR-25 promotes glioblastoma cell proliferation and invasion by directly targeting NEFL

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant and common brain tumor; it is aggressive growth pattern means that GBM patients face a poor prognosis even when receiving the best available treatment modalities. In recent years, an increasing number of reports suggest that the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) might provide a novel therapeutic target for human cancers, including GBM. One miRNA in particular, microRNA-25 (miR-25), is overexpressed in several cancers, wherein accumulating evidence indicates that it functions as an oncogene. However, the function of miR-25 in GBM has not been totally elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated that miR-25 was significantly up-regulated in astrocytoma tissues and glioblastoma cell lines. In vitro studies further demonstrated that overexpressed miR-25 was able to promote, while its antisense oligos inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in U251 cells. Moreover, we identified neurofilament light polypeptide (NEFL) as a novel target molecule of miR-25. Also of note was the fact that NEFL was down-regulated with increased levels of miR-25 expression in human astrocytoma clinical specimens. In addition, via the mTOR signaling pathway, NEFL-siRNA could significantly attenuate the inhibitory effects of knockdown miR-25 on the proliferation and invasion of U251 cells. Overall, our results showed an important role for miR-25 in regulating NEFL expression in GBM, and suggest that miR-25 could be a potential target for GBM treatment.

MiR-503 inhibited cell proliferation of human breast cancer cells by suppressing CCND1 expression

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies and a major cause of cancer-related mortality all over the world. A growing body of reports revealed that microRNAs play essential roles in the progression of cancers. Aberrant expression of miR-503 has been reported in several kinds of cancer. The aim of the current study was to elucidate the role of miR-503 in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. In the present study, our results suggested that miR-503 expression was markedly downregulated in breast cancer tissues and cells. Overexpression of miR-503 in breast cancer cell lines reduced cell proliferation through inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest by targeting CCND1. Together, our findings provide new knowledge regarding the role of miR-503 in the progression of breast cancer and indicate the role of miR-503 as a tumor suppressor microRNA (miRNA) in breast cancer.

Key nodes of a microRNA network associated with the integrated mesenchymal subtype of high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer mortality. One of the initiating events of cancer metastasis of epithelial tumors is epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), during which cells dedifferentiate from a relatively rigid cell structure/morphology to a flexible and changeable structure/morphology often associated with mesenchymal cells. The presence of EMT in human epithelial tumors is reflected by the increased expression of genes and levels of proteins that are preferentially present in mesenchymal cells. The combined presence of these genes forms the basis of mesenchymal gene signatures, which are the foundation for classifying a mesenchymal subtype of tumors. Indeed, tumor classification schemes that use clustering analysis of large genomic characterizations, like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), have defined mesenchymal subtype in a number of cancer types, such as high-grade serous ovarian cancer and glioblastoma. However, recent analyses have shown that gene expression-based classifications of mesenchymal subtypes often do not associate with poor survival. This “paradox” can be ameliorated using integrated analysis that combines multiple data types. We recently found that integrating mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) data revealed an integrated mesenchymal subtype that is consistently associated with poor survival in multiple cohorts of patients with serous ovarian cancer. This network consists of 8 major miRNAs and 214 mRNAs. Among the 8 miRNAs, 4 are known to be regulators of EMT. This review provides a summary of these 8 miRNAs, which were associated with the integrated mesenchymal subtype of serous ovarian cancer.

miR-107 and miR-25 simultaneously target LATS2 and regulate proliferation and invasion of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) cells

Although a series of oncogenes and tumor suppressors were identified in the pathological development of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), the underlying molecule mechanism were still not fully understood. The current study explored the expression profile of miR-107 and miR-25 in GAC patients and their downstream regulative network. qRT-PCR analysis was performed to quantify the expression of these two miRNAs in serum samples from both patients and healthy controls. Dual luciferase assay was conducted to verify their putative bindings with LATS2. MTT assay, cell cycle assay and transwell assay were performed to explore how miR-107 and miR-25 regulate proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells. Findings of this study demonstrated that total miR-107 or miR-25 expression might be overexpressed in gastric cancer patients and they can simultaneously and synchronically regulate LATS2 expression, thereby affecting gastric cancer cell growth and invasion. Therefore, the miR-25/miR-107-LATS2 axis might play an important role in proliferation and invasion of the gastric cancer cells.

Fibroblasts from patients with major depressive disorder show distinct transcriptional response to metabolic stressors

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is increasingly viewed as interplay of environmental stressors and genetic predisposition, and recent data suggest that the disease affects not only the brain, but the entire body. As a result, we aimed at determining whether patients with major depression have aberrant molecular responses to stress in peripheral tissues. We examined the effects of two metabolic stressors, galactose (GAL) or reduced lipids (RL), on the transcriptome and miRNome of human fibroblasts from 16 pairs of patients with MDD and matched healthy controls (CNTR). Our results demonstrate that both MDD and CNTR fibroblasts had a robust molecular response to GAL and RL challenges. Most importantly, a significant part (messenger RNAs (mRNAs): 26-33%; microRNAs (miRNAs): 81-90%) of the molecular response was only observed in MDD, but not in CNTR fibroblasts. The applied metabolic challenges uncovered mRNA and miRNA signatures, identifying responses to each stressor characteristic for the MDD fibroblasts. The distinct responses of MDD fibroblasts to GAL and RL revealed an aberrant engagement of molecular pathways, such as apoptosis, regulation of cell cycle, cell migration, metabolic control and energy production. In conclusion, the metabolic challenges evoked by GAL or RL in dermal fibroblasts exposed adaptive dysfunctions on mRNA and miRNA levels that are characteristic for MDD. This finding underscores the need to challenge biological systems to bring out disease-specific deficits, which otherwise might remain hidden under resting conditions.

miR-25 modulates NSCLC cell radio-sensitivity through directly inhibiting BTG2 expression

A large proportion of the NSCLC patients were insensitive to radiotherapy, but the exact mechanism is still unclear. This study explored the role of miR-25 in regulating sensitivity of NSCLC cells to ionizing radiation (IR) and its downstream targets. Based on measurement in tumor samples from NSCLC patients, this study found that miR-25 expression is upregulated in both NSCLC and radio-resistant NSCLC patients compared the healthy and radio-sensitive controls. In addition, BTG expression was found negatively correlated with miR-25a expression in the both tissues and cells. By applying luciferase reporter assay, we verified two putative binding sites between miR-25 and BTG2. Therefore, BTG2 is a directly target of miR-25 in NSCLC cancer. By applying loss-and-gain function analysis in NSCLC cell lines, we demonstrated that miR-25-BTG2 axis could directly regulated BTG2 expression and affect radiotherapy sensitivity of NSCLC cells.