MicroRNA-217 functions as a prognosis predictor and inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation and invasion via an AEG-1 dependent mechanism

MicroRNA-217 inhibits cell proliferation and invasion by targeting Runx2 in human glioma

MircroRNA-217 (miR-217) has been showed to involve in the initiation and development of human cancers, and is recognize as a tumor suppressor miRNA in several tumors. However, the clinical significance and its underlying role in human glioma remain unclear. Herein, we found that the expression of miR-217 was significantly down-regulated in glioma tissues as compared with adjacent normal brain tissues. Clinical association analysis disclosed that low-expression of miR-217 was evidently negative associated with advanced tumor stage (grade III + IV) in glioma. Further function assays showed that miR-217 inhibited proliferation, colony formation, invasion and migration of glioma cells. Notably, runt-related transcription factors 2 (Runx2) was identified as a functional target of miR-217 in glioma. Furthermore, an inverse correlation between miR-217 and Runx2 expression was observed in glioma tissues. Downregulation of Runx2 has similar with inhibition effect of overexpression of miR-217, and upregulation of Runx2 reversed the effects of overexpressing of miR-217. Taken together, these results suggest a critical role of miR-217 in suppressing proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioma by targeting Runx2.

MiR-217 is down-regulated in psoriasis and promotes keratinocyte differentiation via targeting GRHL2

MiR-217 is a well-known tumor suppressor, and its down-regulation has been shown in a wide range of solid and leukaemic cancers. However, the biological role of miR-217 in psoriasis pathogenesis, especially in keratinocyte hyperproliferation and differentiation, is not clearly understood. In this study, we found the expression of miR-217 was markedly down-regulated in psoriasis keratinocytes of psoriatic patients. In addition, overexpression of miR-217 inhibited the proliferation and promoted the differentiation of primary human keratinocytes. On the contrary, inhibition of endogenous miR-217 increased cell proliferation and delayed differentiation. Furthermore, Grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2) was identified as a direct target of miR-217 by luciferase reporter assay. The expression of miR-217 and GRHL2 was inversely correlated in both transfected keratinocytes and in psoriasis lesional skin. Moreover, knocking down GRHL2 expression by siRNA enhanced keratinocyte differentiation. Taken together, our results demonstrate a role for miR-217 in the regulation of keratinocyte differentiation, partially through the regulation of GRHL2.

Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 as a Novel Clinicopathological and Prognostic Biomarker for Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Meta-Analysis with 2999 Patients

BACKGROUND

There have been numerous articles as to whether the staining index (SI) of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) adversely affects clinical progression and prognosis of gastrointestinal cancers. Nevertheless, controversy still exists in terms of correlations between AEG-1 SI and clinicopathological parameters including survival data. Consequently, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to confirm the role of AEG-1 in clinical outcomes of gastrointestinal carcinoma patients.

METHODS

We performed a comprehensive search in PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang and Chinese VIP databases. STATA 12.0 (STATA Corp., College, TX) was used to analyze the data extracted from suitable studies and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was applied to assess the quality of included articles.

RESULTS

The current meta-analysis included 2999 patients and our results suggested that strong associations emerged between AEG-1 SI and histological differentiation (OR = 2.129, 95%CI: 1.377-3.290, P = 0.001), tumor (T) classification (OR = 2.272, 95%CI: 1.147-4.502, P = 0.019), lymph node (N) classification (OR = 2.696, 95%CI: 2.178-3.337, P<0.001) and metastasis (M) classification (OR = 3.731, 95%CI: 2.167-6.426, P<0.001). Furthermore, high AEG-1 SI was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.369, 95%CI: 2.005-2.800, P<0.001) and deteriorated disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.538, 95%CI: 1.171-2.020, P = 0.002). For disease-specific survival (DSS) and relapse-free survival (RFS), no statistically significant results were observed (HR = 1.573, 95%CI: 0.761-3.250, P = 0.222; HR = 1.432, 95%CI: 0.108-19.085, P = 0.786). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that high AEG-1 SI was significantly related to poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) (HR = 1.715, 95%CI: 1.211-2.410, P = 0.002), gastric carcinoma (GC) (HR = 2.255, 95%CI: 1.547-3.288, P<0.001), colorectal carcinoma (CRC) (HR = 2.922, 95%CI: 1.921-4.444, P<0.001), gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) (HR = 3.047, 95%CI: 1.685-5.509, P<0.001), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (HR = 2.245, 95%CI: 1.620-3.113, P<0.001), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) (HR = 2.408, 95%CI: 1.625-3.568, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The current meta-analysis indicated that high AEG-1 SI might be associated with tumor progression and poor survival status in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. AEG-1 might play a vital role in promoting tumor aggression and could serve as a potential target for molecular treatments. Further clinical trials are needed to validate whether AEG-1 SI provides valuable insights into improving treatment decisions.

Tumor suppressor role of miR-217 in human epithelial ovarian cancer by targeting IGF1R

Accumulating evidence shows that microRNA-217 (miR-217) is frequently dysregulated in various cancers, and plays crucial roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis; however, the role and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-217 in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains unclear. Here, we report that miR-217 expression was downregulated in EOC tissue and inversely correlated with advanced FIGO stage, high histological grading and lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). Function analysis revealed that the ectopic expression of miR-217 in EOC cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, as well as suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase assays identified insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) as a direct target of miR-217 in EOC cells. Western blot assay showed that overexpression of miR-217 in EOC cells inhibited IGF1R expression. In addition, downregulation of IGF1R mimicked the tumor-suppressive effects of miR-217 in EOC cells, whereas the reintroduction of IGF1R partially abrogated the suppression effect induced by miR-217 on EOC cells. Collectively, these results demonstrated that miR-217 plays a tumor suppressor role in human epithelial ovarian cancer by directly targeting IGF1R gene, suggesting a new potential therapeutic target in EOC.