SPAG5 interacts with CEP55 and exerts oncogenic activities via PI3K/AKT pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

The value of CEP55 gene as a diagnostic biomarker and independent prognostic factor in LUAD and LUSC

Objective

To investigate the value of CEP55 as a diagnostic marker and independent prognostic factor in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), and to analyze its co-expression genes and related signaling pathways.

Methods

TCGA database and GEO database were used to analyze the expression of CEP55 in LUAD and LUSC compared with normal tissues. The co-expression genes of CEP55 in LUAD and LUSC were excavated by cBioPortal and enriched by KEGG and GO. Establishing Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the value of CEP55 as a diagnostic and prognostic factor. The association between CEP55 expression and the clinicopathological features was evaluated using χ2 tests. ROC curves for diagnosis and prognosis detection were constructed. Prognostic values were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression models.

Results

Compared with normal lung tissues, CEP55 expression was significantly upregulated in both LUAD and LUSC. ROC curve analysis showed that CEP55 could be used as an effective diagnostic target for LUAD (AUC = 0.969) and LUSC (AUC = 0.994). When CEP55 gene was selected as an independent prognostic factor, high expression of CEP55 was more disadvantageous to OS and RFS of LUAD patients (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found in LUSC patients (P>0.05). The number of co-expression genes of CEP55 in LUAD is more than that in LUSC, and is related to cell cycle, DNA replication and P53 signaling pathway.

Conclusion

CEP55 can be used as a diagnostic marker for LUAD and LUSC, but only as an independent prognostic factor for LUAD rather than LUSC.

Long Noncoding RNA PTTG3P Expression Is an Unfavorable Prognostic Marker for Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective:

PTTG3P, which maps to chromosome 8q13.1, is a novel long noncoding RNA with oncogenic properties in cancers. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic value of PTTG3P in terms of overall survival and recurrence-free survival and its potential regulatory network and transcription pattern in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Patients and Methods:

An in silico analysis was performed using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Results:

Results showed that the high PTTG3P expression group was consistently associated with shorter overall survival and recurrence-free survival, regardless of pathological stages or tumor grade. High PTTG3P expression was an independent indicator of shorter overall survival (hazard ratio: 2.177, 95% confidence interval: 1.519-3.121, P < .001) and recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio: 2.222, 95% confidence interval: 1.503-3.283, P < .001). The genes strongly coexpressed with PTTG3P are enriched in several KEGG pathways that are closely associated with carcinogenesis and malignant transformation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Conclusion:

Based on the findings, we infer that PTTG3P expression might serve as an independent prognostic biomarker in primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

SPAG5: An Emerging Oncogene

Sperm-associated Antigen 5 (SPAG5) is a mitotic spindle protein. Recent studies have found that it is overexpressed in many human cancers and functions as an oncogene. Here, we summarize the current underlying mechanisms for its oncogenic roles in regulating cellular behaviors of cancer cells and discuss the possibility of targeting SPAG5 for cancer treatment.

Up-Regulated CCDC34 Contributes to the Proliferation and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

Coiled-coil domain-containing protein 34 (CCDC34), which belongs to the CCDCs family, has been recently reported to be up-regulated in various kinds of tumors. However, its role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remains unclear.

Materials and methods

In this study, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to measure the mRNA and protein levels of CCDC34 in clinical samples. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the relationship between CCDC34 and the prognosis in HCC patients. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were conducted to investigate CCDC34's effect on the cell proliferation, and Transwell assays were used to detect CCDC34's effect on the cell metastasis. Moreover, subcutaneous xenograft tumor model and lung metastasis model were applied to confirm the impact of CCDC34 on the HCC development. Lastly, RNA sequencing and Western blot analysis were performed to probe the underlying mechanism of CCDC34's effect on HCC.

Results

CCDC34 was significantly induced in HCC tissues, and the overexpression of CCDC34 predicted the poor outcomes among HCC patients. It was verified by the in vitro and in vivo experiments that CCDC34-knockdown potently inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells. Subsequent results indicated that CCDC34 inhibition can affect the activation of protein kinase B (PKB or AKT) as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process.

Conclusion

CCDC34 is significantly associated with HCC. It will become a promising prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target against HCC.

Expression, immune infiltration and clinical significance of SPAG5 in hepatocellular carcinoma: A gene expression-based study

BACKGROUND

Overexpression of sperm-associated antigen 5 (SPAG5) is a marker of poor prognosis in numerous tumors and is recognized as an index of tumor proliferation; however, its expression in liver cancer remains unclear.

METHODS

The Oncomine (https://www.oncomine.org) and Timer (https://cistrome.shinyapps.io/timer) databases were used to analyze the expression of SPAG5 in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and normal liver tissues. The relationship between the expression of SPAG5 and immune infiltration of HCC was investigated using the Timer and GEPIA (http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn) databases, and the mechanism was analyzed using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. A Kaplan-Meier Plotter (http://kmplot.com/analysis) was used to evaluate the effect of SPAG5 on the prognosis of patients with HCC.

RESULTS

The results revealed that the SPAG5 expression level was positively correlated with the infiltration levels of CD8⁺ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and especially B cells and dendritic cells. In addition, SPAG5 expression was significantly associated with T cell exhaustion. The overall survival time, progression-free survival time, recurrence-free survival time and disease-specific survival time were significantly reduced for HCC patients with high SPAG5 expression (p < 0.01) and high expression of SPAG5 was significantly associated with a poor overall survival time and progression-free survival time of grade and stage II-III HCC (p < 0.05) but not with stage I HCC (p > 0.05). Additionally, the expression of SPAG5 is related to the p53 and cell cycle signal pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, SPAG5 is not only a marker of immune infiltration and poor prognosis, but also a potential therapeutic target for liver cancer.

MicroRNA-96-3p promotes metastasis of papillary thyroid cancer through targeting SDHB

Background

MicroRNA (MiRNA) is a small non-coding RNA which is implicated in a cohort of biological function in cancer, including proliferation, metastasis, apoptosis and invasion. MiR-96 has been reported to be involved in many cancers, including papillary thyroid cancer. However, the role of miR-96-3p in papillary thyroid cancer metastasis is still unclear.

Methods

qRT-PCR is used to detect the level of miR-96-3p and mRNA of SDHB in PTC tissues and cell lines. Western blot assays are used to verify the protein expression of SDHB. The transwell assays are performed to identify the migration ability of PTC cell lines. Moreover, dual-luciferase 3'-UTR reporter assays are chosen to illuminate the direct target of miR-96-3p.

Results

The relative miR-96-3p upregulate in PTC tissues and three PTC cell lines (B-CPAP, K-1 and TPC-1 cells) while the relative SDHB is opposite. Our results revealed that the miR-96-3p promotes metastasis and invasion in PTC cell lines (K-1 and TPC-1 cells) by direct targeting SDHB and influence the downstream protein AKT.

Conclusions

Taken together, the miR-96-3p is involved in PTC metastasis and invasion by direct targeting SDHB and the downstream molecule AKT and mTOR.

Clinical Significance And Integrative Analysis Of Kinesin Family Member 18B In Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background

Kinesin family member 18B (KIF18B) is a member of the kinesin-8 superfamily, and functions as an oncogene in human cancers. However, its expression profile and role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain unclear.

Materials and methods

We examined the expression profile of KIF18B using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry in fresh clinical samples. Using data downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus, we explored the clinical significance of KIF18B, potential mechanisms of its dysregulation and its underlying biological function in LUAD.

Results

KIF18B was significantly over-expressed in LUAD tissues relative to normal tissues. High KIF18B expression was associated with smoking history, positive nodal invasion, advanced clinical stage, death status and poorer prognosis. Cox regression analyses revealed that KIF18B overexpression was an independent prognostic biomarker for poor overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival in LUAD. In addition, KIF18B mutation was observed in 2.2% of LUAD cases. DNA copy number variation was correlated with upregulated expression of KIF18B in LUAD tissues and cell lines. The methylation level of some KIF18B DNA CpG sites was negatively associated with its mRNA expression. KIF18B was predictively targeted by miR-125a-5p, which was downregulated in LUAD tissues, inversely correlated with KIF18B mRNA expression and significantly associated with poor OS. Furthermore, gene set enrichment analysis revealed that genes positively co-expressed with KIF18B were mainly enriched in cell cycle signaling pathways.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that KIF18B is a promising prognostic biomarker for LUAD. DNA amplification, hypomethylation as well as miR-125a-5p downregulation may be involved in the mechanism of KIF18B dysregulation in LUAD. KIF18B might function as a novel oncogene through cell cycle regulation pathways in LUAD.

Role of BCYRN1 in hepatocellular carcinoma pathogenesis by lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network analysis and its diagnostic and prognostic value

Aim: This study aimed to excavate the roles of BCYRN1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A comprehensive strategy of microarray data mining, computational biology and experimental verification were adopted to assess the clinical significance of BCYRN1 and identify related pathways. Results: BCYRN1 was upregulated in HCC and its expression was positively associated with both tumor, node, metastasis and worse survival rate in patients with HCC. Through combing plasma BCYRN1 with alpha fetoprotein, the diagnosis of HCC was remarkably improved. BCYRN1 may regulate some cancer-related pathways to promote HCC initiation via an lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. Conclusion: Our results propose BCYRN1 as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and offer a novel perspective to explore the etiopathogenesis of HCC.

SPAG5 contributes to the progression of gastric cancer by upregulation of Survivin depend on activating the wnt/β-catenin pathway

The sperm-associated antigen 5 (SPAG5) plays a key role in controlling cellular processes, including cell cycle progression and proliferation. However, the role of SPAG5 in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Herein, our study showed that upregulation of SPAG5 was detected frequently in GC tissues, and was associated with significantly worse survival in patients with GC. Multivariate analyses revealed that high SPAG5 expression was an independent predictive marker for the poor prognosis of GC patients. Further, SPAG5 knockdown notably inhibited the proliferation abilities of GC in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, our results indicate that SPAG5 promotes cell progression by increasing Survivin expression, which has been reported to control the progression of GC. Moreover, our data demonstrate that Survivin is crucial for SPAG5-mediated GC cell progression in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that SPAG5 promotes the progression of GC via enhancing the Wnt/β-catenin/Survivin axis. Collectively, our data suggest that SPAG5 plays a crucial oncogenic role in GC tumorigenesis, and we provide a novel evidence that SPAG5 may be serve as a prognostic and therapeutic target for GC patients.

Emerging Roles of the TRIM E3 Ubiquitin Ligases MID1 and MID2 in Cytokinesis

Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification that consists of ubiquitin attachment to target proteins through sequential steps catalysed by activating (E1), conjugating (E2), and ligase (E3) enzymes. Protein ubiquitination is crucial for the regulation of many cellular processes not only by promoting proteasomal degradation of substrates but also re-localisation of cellular factors and modulation of protein activity. Great importance in orchestrating ubiquitination relies on E3 ligases as these proteins recognise the substrate that needs to be modified at the right time and place. Here we focus on two members of the TRIpartite Motif (TRIM) family of RING E3 ligases, MID1, and MID2. We discuss the recent findings on these developmental disease-related proteins analysing the link between their activity on essential factors and the regulation of cytokinesis highlighting the possible consequence of alteration of this process in pathological conditions.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of CEP55 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma as determined by bioinformatics analysis

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the most common types of malignant adult kidney tumor. Tumor recurrence and metastasis is the primary cause of cancer-associated mortality in patients with ccRCC. Therefore, identification of efficient diagnostic and prognostic molecular markers may improve survival times. The GSE46699, GSE36895, GSE53000 and GSE53757 gene datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and contained 196 ccRCC samples and 164 adjacent normal kidney samples. Bioinformatics analysis was used to integrate the four microarray datasets to identify and analyze differentially expressed genes. Functional analysis revealed that there were 12 genes associated with cancer, based on the tumor-associated gene database. Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4, centrosomal protein 55 (CEP55) and vascular endothelial growth factor A are oncogenes, all of which were associated with tumor stage, whereas only CEP55 was significantly associated with survival time as determined by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis. The mRNA expression levels of CEP55 in ccRCC samples were significantly higher than those observed in adjacent normal kidney tissues based on The Cancer Genome Atlas data and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that CEP55 may be considered a diagnostic biomarker for ccRCC with an area under the curve of >0.85 in the training and validation sets. High CEP55 expression was strongly associated with sex, histological grade, stage, T classification, N classification and M classification. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses demonstrated that CEP55 expression was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis. In addition, gene set enrichment analysis indicated that high CEP55 expression was associated with immunization, cell adhesion, inflammation, the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathway and cell proliferation. In conclusion, CEP55 was increased in ccRCC samples, and may be considered a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for ccRCC.

SPAG5 upregulation contributes to enhanced c-MYC transcriptional activity via interaction with c-MYC binding protein in triple-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype that lacks effective therapeutic targets. Sperm-associated antigen 5 (SPAG5) is a mitotic spindle-associated protein that is involved in various biological processes in cervical cancer and bladder urothelial carcinoma. However, the role of SPAG5 in TNBC remains undefined.

METHODS

The expression of SPAG5 was examined in TNBC patients via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The biological functions of SPAG5 in TNBC and the underlying mechanisms were investigated in vitro and in vivo.

RESULTS

SPAG5 expression was significantly upregulated in TNBC tissues compared with that in paired adjacent noncancerous tissues (ANTs). High SPAG5 expression was associated with increased lymph node metastasis and high risk of local recurrence. SPAG5 protein expression was significantly associated with poor disease-free survival in TNBC. Gene set enrichment analysis of TNBC data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) indicated that high SPAG5 expression was significantly associated with cell cycle and the ATR-BRCA pathway. Functional assays demonstrated that SPAG5 expression promoted tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. In addition, SPAG5-silenced cells were more sensitive to the PARP inhibitor (PARPi) olaparib. Mechanistically, SPAG5 interacted with c-MYC binding protein (MYCBP), thereby increasing MYCBP protein levels and leading to increased c-MYC transcriptional activity, which promoted the expression of the c-MYC target genes: CDC20, CDC25C, BRCA1, BRCA2, and RAD51.Knockdown of MYCBP or c-MYC abolished the SPAG5-induced cell-cycle progression and cell proliferation of TNBC.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, our results indict that SPAG5 is an efficient prognostic factor in TNBC, and that SPAG5 knockdown increases the sensitivity of TNBC to the PARPi olaparib. SPAG5 promotes tumor growth and DNA repair by increasing c-MYC transcriptional activity via interaction with MYCBP. The SPAG5/MYCBP/c-MYC axis may represent a potential therapeutic target for TNBC treatment.