PRMT5 promotes progression of endometrioid adenocarcinoma via ERα and cell cycle signaling pathways

Relationship between arginine methylation and vascular calcification

In patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), vascular calcification (VC) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the primary cause of death in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The main component of VC in CKD is the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). VC is an ordered, dynamic activity. Under the stresses of oxidative stress and calcium-‑phosphorus imbalance, VSMCs undergo osteogenic phenotypic transdifferentiation, which promotes the formation of VC. In addition to traditional epigenetics like RNA and DNA control, post-translational modifications have been discovered to be involved in the regulation of VC in recent years. It has been reported that the process of osteoblast differentiation is impacted by catalytic histone or non-histone arginine methylation. Its function in the osteogenic process is comparable to that of VC. Thus, we propose that arginine methylation regulates VC via many signaling pathways, including as NF-B, WNT, AKT/PI3K, TGF-/BMP/SMAD, and IL-6/STAT3. It might also regulate the VC-related calcification regulatory factors, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Consequently, we propose that arginine methylation regulates the calcification of the arteries and outline the regulatory mechanisms involved.

Roles of estrogen receptor α in endometrial carcinoma (Review)

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is a group of endometrial epithelial malignancies, most of which are adenocarcinomas and occur in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. It is one of the most common carcinomas of the female reproductive system. It has been shown that the occurrence and development of EC is closely associated with the interaction between estrogen (estradiol, E2) and estrogen receptors (ERs), particularly ERα. As a key nuclear transcription factor, ERα is a carcinogenic factor in EC. Its interactions with upstream and downstream effectors and co-regulators have important implications for the proliferation, metastasis, invasion and inhibition of apoptosis of EC. In the present review, the structure of ERα and the regulation of ERα in multiple dimensions are described. In addition, the classical E2/ERα signaling pathway and the crosstalk between ERα and other EC regulators are elucidated, as well as the therapeutic targeting of ERα, which may provide a new direction for clinical applications of ERα in the future.

Integrative Evaluation of the Clinical Significance Underlying Protein Arginine Methyltransferases in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

HCC is a major contributor to cancer-related mortality worldwide. Curative treatments are available for a minority of patients diagnosed at early stages; however, only a few multikinase inhibitors are available and are marginally effective in advanced cases, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic targets. One potential target is the protein arginine methyltransferase, which catalyzes various forms of arginine methylation and is often overexpressed in various cancers. However, the diverse expression patterns and clinical values of PRMTs in HCC remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the transcriptional expression of PRMTs in HCC cohorts using publicly available datasets. Our results revealed a significant association between PRMTs and prognosis in HCC patients with diverse clinical characteristics and backgrounds. This highlights the promising potential of PRMTs as prognostic biomarkers in patients with HCC. In particular, single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing analysis coupled with another human cohort study highlighted the pivotal role of PRMT1 in HCC progression, particularly in the context of Tex. Translating these findings into specific therapeutic decisions may address the unmet therapeutic needs of patients with HCC.

The circSPON2/miR-331-3p axis regulates PRMT5, an epigenetic regulator of CAMK2N1 transcription and prostate cancer progression

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men, and its mechanism remains poorly understood. Therefore, it is urgent to discover potential novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets that can potentially facilitate the development of efficient anticancer strategies.

METHODS

A series of functional in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to evaluate the biological behaviors of PCa cells. RNA pulldown, Western blot, luciferase reporter, immunohistochemistry and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were applied to dissect the detailed underlying mechanisms. High-throughput sequencing was performed to screen for differentially expressed circRNAs in PCa and adjacent normal tissues.

RESULTS

Upregulation of protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is associated with poor progression-free survival and the activation of multiple signaling pathways in PCa. PRMT5 inhibits the transcription of CAMK2N1 by depositing the repressive histone marks H4R3me2s and H3R8me2s on the proximal promoter region of CAMK2N1, and results in malignant progression of PCa both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the expression of circSPON2, a candidate circRNA in PCa tissues identified by RNA-seq, was found to be associated with poor clinical outcomes in PCa patients. Further results showed that circSPON2 induced PCa cell proliferation and migration, and that the circSPON2-induced effects were counteracted by miR-331-3p. Particularly, circSPON2 acted as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of miR-331-3p to attenuate the repressive effects of miR-331-3p on its downstream target PRMT5.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings showed that the epigenetic regulator PRMT5 aggravates PCa progression by inhibiting the transcription of CAMK2N1 and is modulated by the circSPON2/miR-331-3p axis, which may serve as a potential therapeutic target for patients with aggressive PCa.

Chitosan oligosaccharides packaged into rat adipose mesenchymal stem cells-derived extracellular vesicles facilitating cartilage injury repair and alleviating osteoarthritis

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the roles of adipose mesenchymal stem cell (AMSC)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) binding with chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) in cartilage injury, as well as the related mechanisms.

Results

IL-1β treatment significantly inhibited the viability and migration of chondrocytes and enhanced cell apoptosis (P < 0.05), while chitosan oligosaccharides and extracellular vesicles-chitosan oligosaccharide conjugates (EVs-COS/EVs-COS conjugates) reversed the changes induced by IL-1β (P < 0.05), and the effects of extracellular vesicles-chitosan oligosaccharide conjugates were better than those of chitosan oligosaccharides (P < 0.05). After cartilage damage, IL-1β, OPN, and p53 were significantly upregulated, COL1A1, COL2A1, OCN, RUNX2, p-Akt/Akt, PI3K, c-Myc, and Bcl2 were markedly downregulated, and extracellular vesicles-chitosan oligosaccharide conjugates reversed the expression induced by cartilage injury. Through sequencing, 760 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) clustered into four expression patterns were associated with negative regulation of the canonical Wnt, PI3K-Akt, AMPK, and MAPK signaling pathways.

Conclusion

Extracellular vesicles-chitosan oligosaccharide conjugates may serve as a new cell-free biomaterial to facilitate cartilage injury repair and improve osteoarthritis.

Graphical Abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-021-01086-x.