miR-199a-3p and miR-214-3p improve the overall survival prediction of muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients after radical cystectomy

MiR-3960 inhibits bladder cancer progression via targeting of DEXI

PURPOSE

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are dominant cargo in exosomes and act as master regulators of cell function, inhibiting mRNA translation and affecting gene silencing. Some aspects of tissue-specific miRNA transport in bladder cancer (BC) and its role in cancer progression are not fully understood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A microarray was used to identify miRNAs in mouse bladder carcinoma cell line MB49 exosomes. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the expression of miRNAs in BC and healthy donor serum. Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining were used to examine the expression of dexamethasone-induced protein (DEXI) in patients with BC. CRISPR-Cas 9 was used to knock out Dexi in MB49, and flow cytometry was performed to test cell proliferation ability and apoptosis under chemotherapy. Human BC organoid culture, miR-3960 transfection, and 293T-exosome-loaded miR-3960 delivery were used to analyze the effect of miR-3960 on BC progression.

RESULTS

The results showed that miR-3960 levels in BC tissue were positively correlated with patient survival time. Dexi was a major target of miR-3960. Dexi knockout inhibited MB49 cell proliferation and promoted cisplatin- and gemcitabine-induced apoptosis. Transfection of miR-3960 mimic inhibited DEXI expression and organoid growth. In parallel, 293T-exosome-loaded miR-3960 delivery and Dexi knockout significantly inhibited subcutaneous growth of MB49 cells in vivo.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate the potential role of miR-3960-mediated inhibition of DEXI as a therapeutic strategy against BC.

The functional role of circular RNAs in the pathogenesis of retinoblastoma: a new potential biomarker and therapeutic target?

Retinoblastoma (RB) is a common cancer in infants and children. It is a curable disease; however, a delayed diagnosis or treatment makes the treatment difficult. Genetic mutations have a central role in the pathogenesis of RB. Genetic materials such as RNAs (coding and non-coding RNAs) are also involved in the progression of the tumor. Circular RNA (circRNA) is the most recently identified RNA and is involved in regulating gene expression mainly through "microRNA sponges". The dysregulation of circRNAs has been observed in several diseases and tumors. Also, various studies have shown that circRNAs expression is changed in RB tissues. Due to their role in the pathogenesis of the disease, circRNAs might be helpful as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker in patients with RB. In addition, circRNAs could be a suitable therapeutic target to treat RB in a targeted therapy approach.

Noncoding RNAs as a potential biomarker for the prognosis of bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The relationship between noncoding RNAs and the prognosis of bladder cancer (BC) is still controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between noncoding RNAs and prognosis by meta-analysis.

METHODS

Comprehensive retrieval of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, the Web of Science, CNKI, and WanFang databases is related to the correlation between noncoding RNAs and the prognosis of BC. Data were extracted, and the literature quality was evaluated. STATA16.0 served for the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

1. CircRNAs: High circ-ZFR expression led to poor overall survival (OS) of BC. 2. LncRNAs: Low lnc-GAS5 expression predicted poor OS of BC, high lnc-TUG1 expression predicted poor OS of BC. 3. MiRNAs: High miR-21 expression predicted poor OS of BC, high miR-222 expression led to poor OS of BC, high miR-155 expression predicted poor progression-free survival (PFS) of BC, high miR-143 expression caused poor PFS of BC, low miR-214 expression could result in poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) of BC.

CONCLUSIONS

High circ-ZFR, lnc-TUG1, miR-222, and miR-21 expressions were correlated with poor OS of BC; high miR-155 and miR-143 expression predicted poor PFS of BC; low lnc-GAS5 expression predicted poor OS of BC; low miR-214 expression predicted poor RFS of BC.

Serum microRNA as liquid biopsy biomarker for the prediction of oncological outcomes in patients with bladder cancer

OBJECTIVES

Radical cystectomy is the gold-standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer and aggressive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. To enhance clinical decision-making regarding patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy, a recurrence prediction biomarker with high accuracy is urgently needed. In this study, we developed a model for the prediction of bladder cancer recurrence after radical cystectomy by combining serum microRNA and a pathological factor.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical records of 81 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy between 2008 and 2016. The dataset was divided into two, and Fisher linear discriminant analysis was used to construct a prognostic model for future recurrence in the training set (n = 41). The performance of the model was evaluated in the validation set (n = 40).

RESULTS

Thirty patients had recurrence after having undergone radical cystectomy. A prognostic model for recurrence was constructed by combining a pathological factor (i.e. positive pathological lymph node status) and three microRNAs (miR-23a-3p, miR-3679-3p, and miR-3195). The model showed a sensitivity of 0.87, a specificity of 0.80, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.88 (0.77-0.98) in the validation set. Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with a low prediction index have significantly longer overall survival than patients with a high prediction index (P = 0.041).

CONCLUSION

A combination of serum microRNA profiles and lymph node statuses is useful for the prediction of oncological outcomes after radical cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer.

Long non-coding RNA BACE1-AS plays an oncogenic role in hepatocellular carcinoma cells through miR-214-3p/APLN axis

BACE1 antisense RNA (BACE1-AS) is implicated in promoting cell proliferation in different types of tumors. However, the function and mechanism of BACE1-AS in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still unclear. In the present study, we found that the relative expression of BACE1-AS in HCC cell lines, HCC tissues, and serum samples of HCC patients was significantly increased, and its high expression was correlated with the poor prognosis of HCC patients. In addition, overexpression of BACE1 promoted HCC cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasion, but inhibited cell apoptosis, while knockdown of BACE1 exerted the opposite role. Furthermore, BACE1-AS sponged miR-214-3p and inhibited its expression, thus promoting Apelin (APLN) expression. Overexpression or knockdown of miR-214-3p could partially reverse the abnormal proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, invasion, and apoptosis caused by overexpression or knockdown of BACE1. These findings suggest that the BACE1-AS/miR-214-3p/APLN axis is a novel signaling pathway that facilitates HCC.

CHML targeted by miR-199a-3p promotes non-small cell lung cancer cell growth via binding to Rab5A

Choroideremia-like (CHML) has been demonstrated to be related to the development of urothelial carcinoma, multiple myeloma, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Whereas, the association between CHML and lung cancer remains dimness. CHML expression was analyzed in NSCLC patients from TCGA dataset and evaluated in our collected NSCLC tissues and NSCLC cell lines. The effects of CHML on the proliferation and apoptosis of NSCLC were investigated in A549 and H1299 cells that downregulation of CHML as well as in H1299-induced xenograft mouse model. An upstream miRNA of CHML was further analyzed. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis and co-immunoprecipitation assay were carried out to explore the mechanism of CHML in NSCLC. We found CHML expression was upregulated in NSCLC patients and cell lines compared with their controls. Knockdown of CHML suppressed the viability and BrdU-positive cell number, and elevated the proportion of Tunel-positive cells and levels of Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved-caspase-3 in NSCLC cells. In mouse models, downregulation of CHML decreased tumor volume and weight, attenuated Ki-67 staining, whereas elevated numbers of Tunel-positive cells, and upregulated levels of Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved-caspase-3. CHML was demonstrated to be a target of miR-199a-3p. miR-199a-3p inhibitor significantly promoted the proliferation, and attenuated the apoptosis of H1299 cells, which were abrogated by CHML silencing. CHML promoted the proliferation of NSCLC cells via directly binding to Rab5A. Taken together, this study revealed that CHML was an oncogene in NSCLC and it could promote the proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of NSCLC cells through binding to Rab5A. CHML was targeted by miR-199a-3p in this cancer.

miR-199a-3p plays an anti-tumorigenic role in lung adenocarcinoma by suppressing anterior gradient 2

Previous studies have explored the association between protein-coding genes and microRNAs (miRNAs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, the influence of the miR-199a-3p/anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) axis in LUAD has not yet been fully explored. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the underlying roles of AGR2 and miR-199a-3p in the development of LUAD. The expression levels of miR-199a-3p and AGR2 in LUAD tissues and cells were detected via quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A luciferase assay was also performed to identify the interaction between AGR2 and miR-199a-3p. Moreover, the cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8), 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), and adhesion assays were used along with flow cytometry to verify the malignancy of LUAD in vitro, while a xenograft tumor assay was performed to confirm the tumor growth in vitro. The findings showed a decrease in the expression of miR-199a-3p in LUAD. Additionally, miR-199a-3p overexpression inhibited the growth of LUAD cells in vitro and in vivo, while elevating the apoptosis rate of the cells. AGR2 knockdown had the same effect in the cells as that of miR-199a-3p overexpression. It was also found that miR-199a-3p directly targeted AGR2 in LUAD cells to suppress tumorigenesis. In conclusion, this study suggests that miR-199a-3p plays an anti-tumorigenic role in LUAD by targeting AGR2. Moreover, our study provides insights into the development of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of LUAD.

Exosomal circEIF3K from cancer-associated fibroblast promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) progression via miR-214/PD-L1 axis

Background

Tumor microenvironment (e.g., cancer-associated fibroblast) plays a key role in cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, the detailed mechanism of whether hypoxia promotes CRC progression via tumor microenvironment remains unclear.

Methods

In this study, circEIF3K exosome was examined by NanoSight Tracking Analysis and RT-qPCR. We used cell colony formation assay, transwell assay and tube formation assay to determine proliferation, invasion and metastasis of HCT116 or SW620 cells. Xenograft tumor assay was employed to show in vivo tumor growth of HCT116 cells.

Results

We found that hypoxia could induce secretion of circEIF3K exosome. Conditioned medium (CM) and exosome from circEIF3K knockdown CAF significantly attenuated proliferation, invasion and tube formation of HCT116 or SW620 cells, which could be reverted by miR-214 under hypoxia treatment. Besides, we observed that circEIF3K knockdown evidently impaired tumor growth in mice. TCGA dataset analysis showed that low expression of circEIF3K was observed in normal tissues and associated with prolonged survival time. Finally, PD-L1 was confirmed as important target for miR-214 in CRC.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our study reveals that a novel axis circEIF3K/miR-214/PD-L1 mediates hypoxia-induced CRC progression via CAF, providing the rationale for developing new targeted therapeutics to treat CRC.

MicroRNA-199a-3p Exhibits Beneficial Effects in Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis by Inhibiting Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Migration

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a serious healthy burden worldwide, it occurs accompany with the disfunction of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). MicroRNAs play pivotal role in the pathogenesis of various diseases. This study aimed to investigate the expression and clinical value of miR-199a-3p in patients with asymptomatic AS, and further explore its regulatory role on VSMCs biological function. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to estimate the expression of miR-199a-3p. Correlation of miR-199a-3p with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) was evaluated by Pearson correlation coefficient. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-199a-3p. Effects of miR-199a-3p on cell proliferation and migration in VSMCs were analyzed using cell-counting method and Transwell assay. Luciferase reporter assay was performed for the target gene analysis. Serum expression of miR-199a-3p was decreased in asymptomatic AS patients compared with the healthy controls. The negative correlations of miR-199a-3p with CIMT and CRP were obtained. The decreased miR-199a-3p was proved to have diagnostic accuracy with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.912, and was an independent predictor for the occurrence of asymptomatic AS. In VSMCs, overexpression of miR-199a-3p led to inhibited cell proliferation and migration, while the knockdown of miR-199a-3p resulted in the opposite results. SP1 was proved to be the target gene of miR-199a-3p. Taken together, downregulated expression of miR-199a-3p is a candidate diagnostic biomarker in the patients with asymptomatic AS. Overexpression of miR-199a-3p exists suppressive effects on VSMC proliferation and migration, indicating that miR-199a-3p may be a potential therapeutic target for AS treatment.

hsa-miR-199a-3p Inhibits Motility, Invasiveness, and Contractility of Ovarian Endometriotic Stromal Cells

It is suggested that aberrantly expressed microRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Our previous study demonstrated that expression of the microRNA hsa-miR-199a-3p is attenuated in human endometriotic cyst stromal cells (ECSCs). The current study aimed to define the roles of hsa-miR-199a-3p in the development of endometriosis. ECSCs and normal endometrial stromal cells (NESCs) were isolated from ovarian endometrioma and normal endometrial tissues, respectively. We evaluated the effect of transfected hsa-miR-199a-3p on the migration, invasion, and contractility of ECSCs using Transwell migration assays, in vitro wound healing assays, Transwell invasion assays, and collagen gel contraction assays. We also examined the downstream target of hsa-miR-199a-3p with an online public database search and luciferase reporter assay. Expression of hsa-miR-199a-3p in ECSCs was significantly lower than that in NESCs, whereas the expression of p21-activated kinase 4 (PAK4) mRNA was significantly higher. Transfection of hsa-miR-199a-3p inhibited the migration, invasion, and contractility of ECSCs via inhibition of PAK4 mRNA expression. PAK4 was confirmed to be the direct target of hsa-miR-199a-3p. Transfection of PAK4 small interfering RNA and the PAK4 inhibitor PF-3758309 also inhibited ECSC migration, invasion, and contractility. These findings suggest that hsa-miR-199a-3p may act as a tumor suppressor in endometriosis development. Attenuation of hsa-miR-199a-3p expression was favorable for ECSCs to acquire the highly invasive, motile, and contractile characteristics of endometriotic cells and is involved in the development of endometriosis. Accordingly, PAK4 inhibitors may be promising for the treatment of endometriosis.

Serum LUCAT1 implicates the pathogenesis of muscle-invasive bladder cancer via targeting miR-199a-5p and miR-199b-5p

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is a common malignancy of urinary system cancers, accounting for about 1/3 of all newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases. Due to its strong metastasis, the 5-year survival of MIBC is less than 50%, and in serious cases, the overall survival of metastatic bladder cancer patients is about 1.3 years. LncRNAs, a type of non-coding RNAs defined as the transcripts exceeding 200 nucleotides in length, are frequently aberrant in multiple cancers including cervical, ovarian, breast and bladder cancers. Recently, LUCAT1 (short for lung cancer-associated transcript 1), a lncRNA first reported to be involved in smoking-related lung cancer, has been observed to exhibit crucial roles in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration and invasion processes of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and colorectal cancer. However, whether it involves in the pathogenesis of MIBC remains underexplored. In the present study, LUCAT1 was up-regulated in the serum samples of MIBC patients and bladder cancer cell lines, as assessed using real-time PCR. Our in vitro data (including wound healing and trans-well assays) showed that LUCAT1 was required for the proliferation, EMT, migration and invasion processes of T24 cells. Moreover, LUCAT1 directly targeted miR-199a-5p and miR-199b-5p, as affirmed using the luciferase reporter assay, and manipulation of LUCAT1 significantly suppressed miR-199a-5p and miR-199b-5p. Collectively, our findings highlight an axis of LUCAT1/miR-199a/b-5p in MIBC pathogenesis. Therefore, LUCAT1 may possibly be a promising candidate for diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target of MIBC.

Unravelling myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): Gender-specific changes in the microRNA expression profiling in ME/CFS

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by medically unexplained debilitating fatigue with suggested altered immunological state. Our study aimed to explore peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for microRNAs (miRNAs) expression in ME/CFS subjects under an exercise challenge. The findings highlight the immune response and inflammation links to differential miRNA expression in ME/CFS. The present study is particularly important in being the first to uncover the differences that exist in miRNA expression patterns in males and females with ME/CFS in response to exercise. This provides new evidence for the understanding of differential miRNA expression patterns and post-exertional malaise in ME/CFS. We also report miRNA expression pattern differences associating with the nutritional status in individuals with ME/CFS, highlighting the effect of subjects' metabolic state on molecular changes to be considered in clinical research within the NINDS/CDC ME/CFS Common Data Elements. The identification of gender-based miRNAs importantly provides new insights into gender-specific ME/CFS susceptibility and demands exploration of sex-suited ME/CFS therapeutics.

Exploration and validation of downregulated microRNA-199a-3p, downstream messenger RNA targets and transcriptional regulation in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary bone tumor with a high incidence and mortality in children and adolescents. Emerging evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in biological tumor mechanisms by targeting downstream messenger RNAs (mRNAs). This article aimed to investigate the potential regulatory targets of microRNA-199a-3p (miR-199a-3p) in OS and to contribute to the understanding of miR-199a-3p-related OS regulatory mechanisms. MicroRNA-related Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) chips, ArrayExpress chips and literature data were used to determine the expression of miR-199a-3p in OS and pooled to explore its potential clinical value. To investigate the target genes of miR-199a-3p further, we integrated the results from the following three-part gene study: Twelve online prediction tools were used to predict the target genes of miR-199a-3p; the GEO GSE89370 chip transfected with miRSelect pEP-miR-199a-3p was used to analyze the downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in OS cells; and highly expressed DEGs were derived from an in-house microarray generated from three pairs of clinical OS and normal tissue samples acquired through our department. Then, we analyzed the target genes using the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to further identify the primary target genes. In addition, we constructed transcription factor (TF)-miRNA-joint gene feed-forward regulatory loops (FFLs) with Circuits DB using miR-199a-3p as the core. A comprehensive meta-analysis of a hub of miR-199a-3p targeted genes was performed to integrate expression level, summary ROC (sROC) curves and survival analysis results from the GEO data for verification and exploration. Finally, the expression levels of the hub genes were verified in OS tissues and U2OS cells by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunocytochemistry (ICC). Data on miR-199a-3p expression were obtained from three data sets (GSE65071, GSE69524, and PMID 21666078), which showed low miR-199a-3p expression levels in OS tissues. The combined data indicated the same tendency, with the SMD of the random effect model, as shown in forest plots, being -2.8 (95% CI: -4.49, -1.11). In addition, we determined that miR-199a-3p may serve as a molecular marker useful for distinguishing OS tissues from normal tissues with high sensitivity and specificity, with the measured outcomes being 0.94 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.99) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.00), respectively. In addition, 391 genes were considered targets of miR-199a-3p in OS, and the enrichment analysis indicated that these targets were mainly enriched in proteoglycans in cancer and in spliceosomes. Four genes, CDKI, CCNB1, AURKA and NEK2, were regarded as hub targets based on the PPI data. Subsequently, TF-miRNA-joint genes FFLs were constructed in Circuits DB and included 17 TFs and 82 joint targets. These joint targets were mainly enriched in spliceosomes. UBE2D1 and RBM25 were regarded as hub joint targets based on the enrichment analysis. All selected target genes were further verified to ensure that they were upregulated in OS and to determine their prognostic significance. At the experimental verification level, the CDK1 protein was confirmed to be positively expressed in the cytoplasm of OS tissues and the U2OS cell line. Our study verified that miR-199a-3p was obviously downregulated in OS. CDK1, CCNB1, NEK2, AURKA, UBE2D1 and RBM25 were identified as potential target genes of miR-199a-3p in OS.

Overview of microRNA-199a Regulation in Cancer

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous short, non-coding RNAs that regulate a multitude of genes at the post-transcriptional level. miR-199, which is a highly conserved miRNA family, consists of miR-199a and miR-199b. Researchers mainly focused on miR-199a over the past few years. Functional studies have demonstrated that mature miR-199a is a key player in the maintenance of normal homeostasis and in the regulation of disease pathogenesis. Here, we summarize the biological functions of miR-199a and review recent research on its roles in the physiological processes of cancer cells, such as proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, autophagy and glycometabolism.

Circ0001429 regulates progression of bladder cancer through binding miR-205-5p and promoting VEGFA expression

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates expressions of circ0001429, miR-205-5p and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) in bladder cancer tissues and their effects on the proliferation, migration and apoptosis.

METHODS

Arraystar Human CircRNA chip was applied to analyzing the differential expression of circRNA in four bladder cancer tissues and paired adjacent normal bladder tissues. Real time quantitative PCR was utilized to detect the expression of circ0001429 in tissue specimens. Bioinformatics, RNA immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays were used to verify the relationship among circ0001429, miR-205-5p and VEGFA in bladder cancer. Cell propagation was determined by CCK8 assay and roles of circ0001429 and miR-205-5p in cell migration were verified with transwell migration assay. Flow cytometry and TUNEL staining were conducted to observe the impact on cell apoptosis ability. Xenograft experiment was also performed to validate the influence of circ0001429 on tumor growth in vivo.

RESULTS

Expressions of circ0001429 and VEGFA were up-regulated, whereas miR-205-5p expression was down-regulated in bladder cancer tissues in comparison with paired adjacent normal bladder tissues. Circ0001429 enhanced the propagation and metastasis abilities of T24 cells and 5637 cells in vitro, but reduced cell apoptosis. In vivo experiments revealed the inhibitor role of sh-circ0001429 in tumor growth and lung metastasis. Circ0001429 sponged miR-205-5p that targeted VEGFA, thereby modulating the protein level of VEGFA. Meanwhile, miR-205-5p restrained the cell viability and mobility and promoted the apoptosis in bladder cancer. Circ0001429 could accelerate cell propagation, migration and invasiveness through increasing VEGFA expression via miR-205-5p.

CONCLUSION

Circ0001429 and VEGFA were highly expressed in bladder cancer, while miR-205-5p were lowly expressed in bladder cancer. The circ0001429 could target at miR-205-5p to regulate VEGFA and promote the development of bladder cancer.

Prognostic values of microRNA-130 family expression in patients with cancer: a meta-analysis and database test

BACKGROUND

Emerging evidence shows that microRNA-130 (miRNA-130) family may be useful as prognostic biomarkers in cancer. However, there is no confirmation in an independent validation study. The aim of this study was to summarize the prognostic value of miRNA-130 family (miRNA-130a and miRNA-130b) for survival in patients with cancer.

METHODS

The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the association strength between miRNA-130 family expression and prognosis. Kaplan-Meier plotters were used to verify the miRNA-130b expression and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

A total of 2141 patients with OS and 1159 patients with disease-free survival (DFS)/progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed in evidence synthesis. For the miRNA-130a, the overall pooled effect size (HR) was HR 1.58 (95% CI: 1.21-2.06, P < 0.001). Tissue and serum expression of miRNA-130a was significantly associated with the OS (HR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.11-2.14, P = 0.009; HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.14-2.38, P = 0.008), and in gastric cancer (HR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.34-2.45, P < 0.001). For the miRNA-13b, a statistical correlation was observed between high miRNA-130b expression and poor OS in patients with cancer (HR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.47-2.59, P < 0.001), especially in tissue sample (HR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.39-2.91, P < 0.001), Asian (HR = 2.55, 95% Cl: 1.77-3.69, P < 0.001) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.23-2.85, P = 0.004). The expression of miRNA-130b was significantly correlated with DFS/PFS (HR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.31-1.77, P < 0.001), in tissue (HR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.50-2.62, P < 0.001) and serum (HR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.15-1.64, P < 0.001), especially in HCC (HR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.50, 2.62, P < 0.001). In database test, a significant correlation between high miRNA-130b expression and poor OS for HCC patients was observed (HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.35, P = 0.0045).

CONCLUSION

The high expression of miRNA-130 family might predict poor prognosis in cancer patients. Prospectively, combining miRNA-130a and miRNA-130b may be considered as powerful prognostic predictor for clinical application.

MicroRNAs Which Can Prognosticate Aggressiveness of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is still characterized by a very high death rate in patients with this disease. One of the reasons for this is the lack of adequate markers which could help determine the biological potential of the tumor to develop into its invasive stage. It has been found that some microRNAs (miRNAs) correlate with disease progression. The purpose of this study was to identify which miRNAs can accurately predict the presence of BC and can differentiate low grade (LG) tumors from high grade (HG) tumors. The study included 55 patients with diagnosed bladder cancer and 30 persons belonging to the control group. The expression of seven selected miRNAs was estimated with the real-time PCR technique according to miR-103-5p (for the normalization of the results). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the feasibility of using selected markers as biomarkers for detecting BC and discriminating non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) from muscle invasive BC (MIBC). For HG tumors, the relevant classifiers are miR-205-5p and miR-20a-5p, whereas miR-205-5p and miR-182-5p are for LG (AUC = 0.964 and AUC = 0.992, respectively). NMIBC patients with LG disease are characterized by significantly higher miR-130b-3p expression values compared to patients in HG tumors.

miR-199a-3p targets ETNK1 to promote invasion and migration in gastric cancer cells and is associated with poor prognosis

PURPOSE

To investigate the prognostic significance of miR-199a-3p and its role in invasion and metastasis in gastric cancer.

METHODS

miR-199a-3p expression in 436 formalin-fixed and 39 frozen gastric cancer tissues was investigated by in situ hybridization and RT-PCR, respectively. The role of miR-199a-3p in the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells was determined in overexpression and inhibitor studies using transwell assays and the SGC-7901, BGC-823 and MGC-803 gastric cancer cells lines. The effect of miR-199a-3p expression on ethanolamine kinase 1 (ETNK1) levels was determined by western botting.

RESULTS

miR-199a-3p was significantly up-regulated in AGS, SGC-7901, BGC-823 and MGC-803 gastric cancer cells, when compared with GES-1 non-malignant gastric epithelial cells. In situ hybridization studies revealed that human non-tumor gastric mucosa samples were negative for miR-199a-3p expression, while 162 of 436 (37.16%) cases of gastric cancer demonstrated positive expression. miR-199a-3p overexpression was associated with tumor size, Lauren classification, depth of invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis, TNM stage and prognosis. In patients with I, II and III stage tumors, high miR-199a-3p expression was associated with a significantly lower 5-year survival rate. miR-199a-3p overexpression was associated with increased cell migration and invasion. ETNK1 expression was inhibited following miR-199a-3p overexpression in BGC-823 and SGC-7901 cells, and elevated following miR-199a-3p suppression in MGC-803 cells.

CONCLUSION

miR-199a-3p is highly expressed in gastric cancer, and correlates with invasion, metastasis and prognosis. miR-199a-3p regulates the invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells by targeting ETNK1. Consequently, miR-199a-3p may serve as a prognostic indicator in gastric cancer.

Exosomes from CD99-deprived Ewing sarcoma cells reverse tumor malignancy by inhibiting cell migration and promoting neural differentiation

Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is an aggressive mesenchymal tumor with unmet clinical need and significant social impacts on children, adolescents, and young adults. CD99, a hallmark surface molecule of EWS, participates in crucial biological processes including cell migration, differentiation, and death. EWS cells can release CD99 through exosomes (EXOs), specialized extracellular vesicles with major cell communication roles. Here we show that, as a consequence of CD99 silencing, EWS cells deliver exosomes with oncosuppressive functions that significantly reduce tumor aggressiveness. These CD99-lacking microvesicles modulate gene expression of the EWS-recipient cells, reduce proliferation and migration, in turn inducing a more-differentiated less-malignant phenotype. The most relevant effects were detected on the activator protein-1 signaling pathway whose regulation was found to be dependent on the specific cargo loaded in vesicles after CD99 shutdown. Investigation of the miRNA content of CD99-deprived EXOs identified miR-199a-3p as a key driver able to reverse EWS malignancy in experimental models as well as in clinical specimens. All together, our data provide evidence that the abrogation of CD99 in EWS tumor cells leads to produce and release EXOs capable to transfer their antineoplastic effects into the nearby tumor cells, suggesting a novel atypical role for these microvesicles in reversion of malignancy rather than in priming the soil for progression and metastatic seeding. This conceptually innovative approach might offer a new therapeutic opportunity to treat a tumor still refractory to most treatments.

LncRNA HOXA11-AS Promotes Proliferation and Cisplatin Resistance of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Suppression of miR-214-3p Expression

Drug resistance to platinum limited therapeutic options for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In the current study, we investigated the role of lncRNA HOMEOBOX A11 (HOXA11) antisense RNA (HOXA11-AS) in OSCC resistance to cisplatin (CDDP). We used clinical tissues and OSCC cell lines and induced CDDP resistance in OSCC cells. Gain and loss of function were performed in OSCC-resistant cells. Xenograft mice were also established. HOXA11-AS expression was increased in OSCC clinical tissues and cell lines and upregulated in CDDP-resistant cells. Upregulation of HOXA11-AS promoted proliferation in CDDP-sensitive cells and inhibited CDDP-induced cytotoxicity. In contrast, downregulation of HOXA11-AS decreased proliferation in CDDP-resistant cells and increased CDDP-induced cytotoxicity. Knockdown of HOXA11-AS inhibited the tumor growth in xenograft mice injected by CDDP. Downregulation of HOXA11-AS increased apoptosis and caspase 3 activities in CDDP-resistant OSCC cells. Bioinformatics, reporter assay, and loss and gain of function assay indicated that HOXA11-AS and miR-214-3p could negatively regulate each other. miR-214-3p was decreased in OSCC clinical tissues and cell lines. We further revealed that proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase (PIM1) was the target of miR-214-3p. PIM1 expression could be negatively regulated by miR-214-3p and positively regulated by HOXA11-AS. Inhibition of PIM1 suppressed anti-miR-214-3p-induced increase of cell proliferation and decrease of apoptosis. In summary, HOXA11-AS was identified to facilitate CDDP-resistance in OSCC and miR-214-3p/PIM1 was found to be the downstream target of HOXA11-AS. The findings highlight the importance of HOXA11-AS/miR-214-3p/PIM1 axis in the drug resistance of OSCC and provide potential targets for improving chemotherapy of OSCC.

Non-coding RNA NEAT1/miR-214-3p contribute to doxorubicin resistance of urothelial bladder cancer preliminary through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway

BACKGROUND

Urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) is one of the most lethal urological malignancies in the world. Patients with UBC are routinely given chemotherapy which results in a median survival of 12-15 months. Nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) functions as an oncogene and could be used as a therapeutic target for human UBC. However, the involvement of NEAT1 in doxorubicin (DOX) resistance of UBC has been poorly demonstrated.

METHODS

Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression levels of NEAT1 and miR-214-3p in UBC tissues and cells. Bioinformatics prediction, RNA pull-down and qRT-PCR were used to assay the regulation manner of NEAT1 and miR-214-3p. Loss/gain function of NEAT1 and miR-214-3p together with western blot, drug resistance assay and flow cytometry were used to explore the influence of NEAT1 in DOX resistance was correlative with miR-214-3p. Finally, luciferase assay system was applied to determine the Wnt/β-catenin signal activity.

RESULTS

NEAT1 was upregulated and miR-214-3p was downregulated in DOX-resistant UBC tissues and cells. NEAT1 knockdown inhibited J82 and T24 cells to DOX chemosensitivity by negatively regulating miR-214-3p expression. NEAT1/miR-214-3p contributed to DOX resistance of UBC preliminary through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

CONCLUSION

NEAT1 contributed to DOX resistance of UBC through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway partly by negatively regulating miR-214-3p expression. Our findings will provide a promising ncRNA targeted therapeutic strategy for UBC with DOX resistance.

Gambogic Acid Inhibits Melanoma through Regulation of miR-199a-3p/ZEB1 Signalling

Malignant melanoma is an aggressive form of cancer which is highly resistant to chemotherapy. We have previously found that gambogic acid (GA), a kind of polyprenylated xanthone, exhibits an antitumour role in melanoma. The study was designed to investigate novel mechanisms of the antitumour effect of GA in melanoma cells and implanted nude mice. Gambogic acid significantly decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis and reduced migration and invasion in A375 cells. In addition, cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity in both A375 and A375/CDDP cells was increased by GA. The expression of miR-199a-3p was increased by GA in A375 cells and implanted tumours, and inhibition of miR-199a-3p significantly prevented GA-induced effect on cell viability, apoptosis, migration, invasion and cisplatin sensitivity in A375 cells. miR-199a-3p mimics reduced tumour weight and volume in vivo and decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis and reduced migration and invasion in vitro. miR-199a-3p expression was decreased in melanoma tissues and cells, as compared with their controls. miR-199a-3p possessed a potential binding site in the 3'-UTR of zinc finger E-box binding homeobox (ZEB1). ZEB1 expression was increased in melanoma tissues and cells, as compared with their controls. ZEB1 and miR-199a-3p expression was negatively correlated in melanoma tissues. The expression of ZEB1 was decreased by GA in A375 cells and implanted tumours, and up-regulation of ZEB1 significantly prevented GA-induced effect on cell viability, apoptosis, migration, invasion and cisplatin sensitivity. Down-regulation of ZEB1 reduced tumour weight and volume in vivo and decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis and reduced migration and invasion in vitro. We identified the important roles of miR-199a-3p and ZEB1 in melanoma and elucidated the tumour suppressor function of miR-199a-3p through inhibition of ZEB1. The results highlight the importance of miR-199a-3p-ZEB1 signalling in antitumour effect of GA in malignant melanoma and provide novel targets for the chemotherapy of melanoma.

LncRNA HOXA11-AS promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by repressing miR-214-3p

Accumulating studies supported that lncRNAs played important roles in tumorigenesis. LncRNA HOXA11‐AS was a novel lncRNA that has been proved to involved in several tumours. However, the role of HOXA11‐AS in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be explained. In our study, we showed that HOXA11‐AS expression was up‐regulated in the HCC tissues, and the higher expression of HOXA11‐AS was associated with the advanced stage in the HCC samples. In addition, we indicated that the expression of HOXA11‐AS was up‐regulated in HCC cell lines (Hep3B, SMMC‐7721, MHCC97‐H and BEL‐7402) compared with normal liver cell lines (HL‐7702). Overexpression of HOXA11‐AS promoted HCC proliferation and invasion and induced the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and knockdown of HOXA11‐AS suppressed the HCC cell proliferation and invasion. However, we showed that miR‐214‐3p expression was down‐regulated in the HCC tissues and cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR‐214‐3p suppressed HCC cell proliferation and invasion. Furthermore, we indicated that overexpression of HOXA11‐AS decreased the miR‐214‐3p expression and the expression of miR‐214‐3p was negatively related with the HOXA11‐AS expression in HCC samples. Ectopic expression of HOXA11‐AS increased HCC proliferation and invasion and induced EMT through inhibiting miR‐214‐3p expression. These data suggested that HOXA11‐AS/miR‐214‐3p axis was responsible for development of HCC.

Bladder Cancer: New Insights into Its Molecular Pathology

Bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. Unfortunately, there have been few advances in its clinical management due to a poor understanding of the correlations between its molecular and clinical features. Mounting evidence suggests that bladder cancer comprises a group of molecularly heterogeneous diseases that undergo a variety of clinical courses and possess diverse therapeutic responses. Owing to the close association between its molecular subtypes and clinicopathological features, specific therapeutic strategies have recently been suggested. This review summarizes the current understanding of the molecular pathology of bladder cancer, including its molecular biomarkers/pathways and molecular subtypes that have been newly identified using high-throughput technologies. It also discusses advances in our understanding of personalized treatments for specific molecular subtypes.

miR-199a-3p and miR-214-3p improve the overall survival prediction of muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients after radical cystectomy

To improve the clinical decision‐making regarding further treatment management and follow‐up scheduling for patients with muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) after radical cystectomy (RC), a better prediction accuracy of prognosis for these patients is urgently needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) based on a previous study as prognostic markers for overall survival (OS) after RC in models combined with clinicopathological data. The expression of six miRNAs (miR‐100‐5p, miR‐130b‐3p, miR‐141‐3p, miR‐199a‐3p, miR‐205‐5p, and miR‐214‐3p) was measured by RT‐qPCR in formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissue samples from 156 MIBC patients who received RC in three urological centers. Samples from 2000 to 2013 were used according to their tissue availability, with follow‐up until June 2016. The patient cohort was randomly divided into a training (n = 100) and test set (n = 56). Seventy‐three samples from adjacent normal tissue were used as controls. Kaplan–Meier, univariate and multivariate Cox regression, and decision curve analyses were carried out to assess the association of clinicopathological variables and miRNAs to OS. Both increased (miR‐130b‐3p and miR‐141‐3p) and reduced (miR‐100‐5p, miR‐199a‐3p, and miR‐214‐3p) miRNA expressions were found in MIBC samples in comparison to nonmalignant tissue samples (P < 0.0001). miR‐199a‐3p and miR‐214‐3p were independent markers of OS in Cox regression models with the significant clinicopathological variables age, tumor status, and lymph node status. The prediction model with the clinicopathological variables was improved by these two miRNAs in both sets. The predictive benefit was confirmed by decision curve analysis. In conclusion, the inclusion of both miRNAs into models based on clinical data for the outcome prediction of MIBC patients after RC could be a valuable approach to improve prognostic accuracy.