ABI1 ‐based expression signature predicts breast cancer metastasis and survival

High Expression of miR-218-5p in the Peripheral Blood Stream and Tumor Tissues of Pediatric Patients with Sarcomas

Sarcomas are malignant tumors that may metastasize and the course of the disease is highly aggressive in children and young adults. Because of the rare incidence of sarcomas and the heterogeneity of tumors, there is a need for non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in sarcomas. The aim of the study was to investigate the level of miR-218-5p in peripheral blood and tumor tissue samples of Ewing's sarcoma, osteosarcoma, spindle cell sarcoma patients, and healthy controls, and assessed whether the corresponding molecule was a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. The study was performed patients (n = 22) diagnosed and treated with Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma and in a control group of 22 healthy children who were matched for age, gender, and ethnicity with the patient group. The expression level of miR-218-5p in RNA samples from peripheral blood and tissue samples were analyzed using the RT-PCR and the expression level of miR-218-5p was evaluated by comparison with the levels in patients and healthy controls. The expression level of miR-218-5p was found to be statistically higher (3.33-fold, p = 0.006) in pediatric patients with sarcomas and when the target genes of miR-218-5p were investigated using the bioinformatics tools, the miR-218-5p was found as an important miRNA in cancer. In this study, the miR-218-5p was shown for the first time to have been highly expressed in the peripheral blood and tumor tissue of sarcoma patients. The results suggest that miR-218-5p can be used as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in sarcomas and will be evaluated as an important therapeutic target.

RBFOX2 deregulation promotes pancreatic cancer progression and metastasis through alternative splicing

RNA splicing is an important biological process associated with cancer initiation and progression. However, the contribution of alternative splicing to pancreatic cancer (PDAC) development is not well understood. Here, we identify an enrichment of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) involved in splicing regulation linked to PDAC progression from a forward genetic screen using Sleeping Beauty insertional mutagenesis in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. We demonstrate downregulation of RBFOX2, an RBP of the FOX family, promotes pancreatic cancer progression and liver metastasis. Specifically, we show RBFOX2 regulates exon splicing events in transcripts encoding proteins involved in cytoskeletal remodeling programs. These exons are differentially spliced in PDAC patients, with enhanced exon skipping in the classical subtype for several RBFOX2 targets. RBFOX2 mediated splicing of ABI1, encoding the Abelson-interactor 1 adapter protein, controls the abundance and localization of ABI1 protein isoforms in pancreatic cancer cells and promotes the relocalization of ABI1 from the cytoplasm to the periphery of migrating cells. Using splice-switching antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) we demonstrate the ABI1 ∆Ex9 isoform enhances cell migration. Together, our data identify a role for RBFOX2 in promoting PDAC progression through alternative splicing regulation.

Breast Cancer Treatment: To tARget or Not? That Is the Question

To assess AR's role in TNBC treatment, various existing and completed clinical trials targeting AR or co-targeting AR with other pertinent signaling molecules were analyzed. Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6), cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (CYP17 lyase), and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway were some of the most prevalent biomarkers used in combination therapy with AR inhibitors in these trials. Studying how AR functions in tandem with these molecules can have increasing breakthroughs in the treatment options for TNBC. Previous studies have been largely unsuccessful in utilizing AR as the sole drug target for systemic targeted treatment in TNBC. However, there is a lack of other commonly used drug target biomarkers in the treatment of this disease, as well. Thus, analyzing the clinical benefit rate (CBR) within clinical trials that use combination therapy can prove to be imperative to the progression of improving treatment options and prognoses.

Erythropoietin inhibits neutrophil extracellular traps formation to ameliorate lung injury in a pneumonia model

BACKGROUND

Severe pneumonia is a kind of disease that develops from lung inflammation, and new drugs are still required to treat the same. Erythropoietin (EPO) is widely used to treat anemia in patients. However, there are fewer studies on the role of EPO in neutrophil extracellular trappings (NETs) and pneumonia, and the mechanism is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the possible effects of EPO on the formation of NETs and progression of pneumonia.

METHODS

Mice pneumonia model was induced by tracheal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and automatic blood cell analysis were performed in this model to confirm the effects of EPO on lung injury. Flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent serological assay, and immunostaining assay were conducted to detect the effects of EPO on the inflammation as well as formation of NETs in mice. Immunoblot was further conducted to confirm the mechanism.

RESULTS

EPO alleviated LPS-induced lung injury. EPO reduced the release of inflammatory factors induced by LPS. In addition, EPO inhibited the formation of NETs. Mechanically, EPO inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor associated factor 2 (TRAF2)/nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) activity in mouse models, and therefore suppressed the progression of pneumonia.

CONCLUSION

EPO inhibited formation of NETs to ameliorate lung injury in a pneumonia model, and could serve as a drug of pneumonia.

Integrated transcriptome analysis identifies APPL1/RPS6KB2/GALK1 as immune-related metastasis factors in breast cancer

The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic immune-related factors in breast cancer (BC) metastasis. The gene expression chip GSE159956 was downloaded from the gene expression omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected using GEO2R online tools based on lymph node and metastasis status. The intersected survival-associated DEGs were screened from the Kaplan-Meier curve. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome (KEGG) annotation analyses were performed to determine the survival-associated DEGs. Immune-related prognostic factors were screened based on immune infiltration. The screened prognostic factors were verified by the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). As a result, twenty-eight upregulated and three downregulated genes were generated by the survival analysis. The enriched GO and KEGG pathways were mostly correlated with "regulation of cellular amino acid metabolic process," "proteasome complex," "endopeptidase activity," and "proteasome." Six of 19 (17 upregulated and 2 downregulated) immune-related prognostic factors were verified by the TCGA database. Four immune-related factors were obtained after ssGSEA, and three significant immune-related factors were selected after univariate and multivariate analyses. Based on the risk score receiver operating characteristic, the three immune-related prognosis factors could be potential biomarkers of BC metastasis. In conclusion, APPL1, RPS6KB2, and GALK1 may play a pivotal role as potential biomarkers for prediction of BC metastasis.

NR2F1, a Tumor Dormancy Marker, Is Expressed Predominantly in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and Is Associated with Suppressed Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation

BACKGROUND

Tumor dormancy is a crucial mechanism responsible for the late recurrence of breast cancer. Thus, we investigated the clinical relevance of the expression of NR2F1, a known dormancy biomarker.

METHODS

A total of 6758 transcriptomes of bulk tumors from multiple breast cancer patient cohorts and two single-cell sequence cohorts were analyzed.

RESULTS

Breast cancer (BC) with high NR2F1 expression enriched TGFβ signaling, multiple metastases, and stem cell-related pathways. Cell proliferation-related gene sets were suppressed, and MKi67 expression was lower in high NR2F1 BC. In tumors with high Nottingham grade, NR2F1 expression was found to be lower. There was no consistent relationship between NR2F1 expression and metastasis or survival. Cancer mutation rates, immune responses, and immune cell infiltrations were lower in high NR2F1 tumors, whereas the infiltration of stromal cells including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) was higher. NR2F1 was predominantly expressed in CAFs, particularly inflammatory CAFs, rather than in cancer cells, consistently in the two single-cell sequence cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

NR2F1 expression in breast cancer is associated with tumor dormancy traits, and it is predominantly expressed in CAFs in the tumor microenvironment.