Inhibition of miR146b-5p suppresses CT-guided renal cell carcinoma by targeting TRAF6

CVD phenotyping in oncologic disorders: cardio-miRNAs as a potential target to improve individual outcomes in revers cardio-oncology

With the increase of aging population and prevalence of obesity, the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer has also presented an increasing tendency. These two different diseases, which share some common risk factors. Relevant studies in the field of reversing Cardio-Oncology have shown that the phenotype of CVD has a significant adverse effect on tumor prognosis, which is mainly manifested by a positive correlation between CVD and malignant progression of concomitant tumors. This distal crosstalk and the link between different diseases makes us aware of the importance of diagnosis, prediction, management and personalized treatment of systemic diseases. The circulatory system bridges the interaction between CVD and cancer, which suggests that we need to fully consider the systemic and holistic characteristics of these two diseases in the process of clinical treatment. The circulating exosome-miRNAs has been intrinsically associated with CVD -related regulation, which has become one of the focuses on clinical and basic research (as biomarker). The changes in the expression profiles of cardiovascular disease-associated miRNAs (Cardio-miRNAs) may adversely affect concomitant tumors. In this article, we sorted and screened CVD and tumor-related miRNA data based on literature, then summarized their commonalities and characteristics (several important pathways), and further discussed the conclusions of Cardio-Oncology related experimental studies. We take a holistic approach to considering CVD as a risk factor for tumor malignancy, which provides an in-depth analysis of the various regulatory mechanisms or pathways involved in the dual attribute miRNAs (Cardio-/Onco-miRNAs). These mechanisms will be key to revealing the systemic effects of CVD on tumors and highlight the holistic nature of different diseases. Therefore, the Cardio-miRNAs should be given great attention from researchers in the field of CVD and tumors, which might become new targets for tumor treatment. Meanwhile, based on the principles of precision medicine (such as the predictive preventive personalized medicine, 3PM) and reverse Cardio-oncology to better improve individual outcomes, we should consider developing personalized medicine and systemic therapy for cancer from the perspective of protecting cardiovascular function.

Role of NF-κB pathway in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma and its potential therapeutic implications

Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), a common malignant tumor of the urinary system, is the most aggressive renal tumor subtype. Since the discovery of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in 1986, many studies have demonstrated abnormal NF-κB signaling is associated with the development of various cancers, including kidney renal clear cell carcinoma. In this study, the relationship between NF-κB and kidney renal clear cell carcinoma was confirmed using bioinformatics analysis. First, we explored the differential expression of copy number variation (CNV), single nucleotide variant (SNV), and messenger RNA (mRNA) in NF-κB-related genes in different types of cancer, as well as the impact on cancer prognosis and sensitivity to common chemotherapy drugs. Then, we divided the mRNA expression levels of NF-κB-related genes in KIRC patients into three groups through GSVA cluster analysis and explored the correlation between the NF-κB pathway and clinical data of KIRC patients, classical cancer-related genes, common anticancer drug responsiveness, and immune cell infiltration. Finally, 11 tumor-related genes were screened using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to construct a prognostic model. In addition, we used the UALCAN and HPA databases to verify the protein levels of three key NF-κB-related genes (CHUK, IKGGB, and IKBKG) in KIRC. In conclusion, our study established a prognostic survival model based on NF-κB-related genes, which can be used to predict the prognosis of patients with KIRC.

TRAF6 promotes chemoresistance to paclitaxel of triple negative breast cancer via regulating PKM2-mediated glycolysis

Ample evidence reveals that glycolysis is crucial to tumor progression; however, the underlying mechanism of its drug resistance is still worth being further explored. TRAF6, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is well recognized to overexpress in various types of cancer, which predicts a poor prognosis. In our study, we discovered that TRAF6 was expressed more significantly in the case of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) than in other of breast cancers, promoting chemoresistance to paclitaxel; that inhibited TRAF6 expression in the chemoresistant TNBC (TNBC-CR) cells enhanced the sensitivity by decreasing glucose uptake and lactate production; that TRAF6 regulated glycolysis and facilitated chemoresistance via binding directly to PKM2; and that overexpressing PKM2 in the TNBC-CR cells with TRAF6 knocked down regained significantly TRAF6-dependent drug resistance and glycolysis. Additionally, we verified that TRAF6 could facilitate PKM2-mediated glycolysis and chemoresistance in animal models and clinical tumor tissues. Thus, we identified the novel function of TRAF6 to promote glycolysis and drug resistance in TNBC with the regulation of PKM2, which could provide a potential molecular target for TNBC treatment.

Deciphering the Role of Melatonin-Related Signatures in Tumor Immunity and the Prognosis of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Methods

Adopting multiomics data from TCGA and other public datasets, we analysed the expression, mutation, and prognostic evaluation in multiple cancers. ccRCC patients were categorized into two subgroups by an unsupervised cluster algorithm: melatonin-pattern cancer subtype 1 (MPCS1) and subtype 2 (MPCS2). We then explored the immune microenvironment, immune therapy response, and tumor metabolic pathways between the two subtypes. The clinical characteristics, genomic mutation landscape, and molecular inhibitor response were further investigated. Finally, a melatonin regulator-related prognostic model was constructed to predict patient prognosis in ccRCC.

Results

We found that melatonin regulators were dysregulated depending on distinct cancer types, which were associated with genomic variation. The two subtypes indicated different clinical characteristics and biological processes in ccRCC. MPCS2, an aggressive subtype, led an advanced clinical stage and poorer survival of ccRCC patients. The activated oncogenic signaling pathway and metabolic signatures were responsible for cancer progression in the MPCS2 subtype. The MPCS2 subgroup suggested a higher tumor mutational burden and immune dysfunction state, resulting in a lower response to immunotherapy. The copy number variations of MPCS2 were significantly more frequent than those of MPCS1. In addition, the two subgroups exhibited distinct drug responsiveness, with MPCS2 being less responsive to multiple drugs. Finally, we established a subtype biomarker-based prognostic risk model that exhibited satisfactory performance in ccRCC patients.

Conclusion

Melatonin regulator-related features could remodel functional pathways and the tumor immune microenvironment through genomic mutations and pathway regulation. Melatonin regulator-associated molecular subtypes enhance the understanding of the molecular characteristics of renal cancer and can guide clinical treatment. Activating the melatonergic system axis may improve the effect of immunotherapy for ccRCC.

miR-30a/SOX4 Double Negative Feedback Loop is modulated by Disulfiram and regulates EMT and Stem Cell-like properties in Breast Cancer

Background: Both epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells play important roles in development and progression of breast cancer. MicroRNA (miR)-30 family members have been reported to be associated with the regulation of EMT and stem cell phenotypes, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood.

Methods: miR-30a stable transfectants of breast cancer cell lines were created using a lentiviral system. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore miR-30a target genes and SOX4 was selected and identified by dual luciferase reporter assay. The effects of miR-30a and target gene SOX4 on EMT and CSC phenotypes in breast cancer were explored in vitro and in vivo.

Results: Overexpression of miR-30a in breast cancer cells inhibited EMT and CSC phenotypes by targeting SOX4. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-30a directly targeted 3'UTR of SOX4, and formed a double-negative feedback loop with SOX4. Functional experiments demonstrated that knockdown of SOX4 suppressed EMT and CSC phenotypes of breast cancer cells through TGF-β/SMAD pathway, which was consistent with the inhibitory effects by overexpression of miR-30a. Additionally, we found disulfiram can upregulate miR-30a expression, and high miR-30a expression was associated with a good prognosis in breast cancer patients through TCGA database.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a novel double-negative loop between miR-30a and SOX4 mediated regulation of EMT and CSC features in breast cancer through TGF-β/SMAD pathway, highlighting a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer.

A Review of Recent Research on the Role of MicroRNAs in Renal Cancer

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a most common type of urologic neoplasms; it accounts for 3% of malignant tumors, with high rates of relapse and mortality. The most common types of renal cancer are clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC), papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC), and chromophobe renal carcinoma (chRCC), which account for 90%, 6–15%, and 2–5%, respectively, of all renal malignancies. Although surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the most common treatment method for those diseases, their effects remain dissatisfactory. Furthermore, recent research shows that the treatment efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in advanced RCC patients is widely variable. Hence, patients urgently need a new molecular biomarker for early diagnosis and evaluating the prognosis of RCC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) belong to a family of short, non-coding RNAs that are highly conserved, have long half-life evolution, and post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression; they have been predicted to play crucial roles in tumor metastasis, invasion, angiogenesis, proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, differentiation, metabolism, cancer occurrence, and treatment resistance. Although some previous papers demonstrated that miRNAs play vital roles in renal cancer, such as pathogenesis, diagnosis, and prognosis, the roles of miRNAs in kidney cancer are still unclear. Therefore, we reviewed studies indexed in PubMed from 2017 to 2020, and found several studies suggesting that there are more than 82 miRNAs involved in renal cancers. The present review describes the current status of miRNAs in RCC and their roles in progression, diagnosis, therapy targeting, and prognosis of RCC.