SP1-induced lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 contributes to tumorigenesis of cervical cancer by modulating the miR-296-5p/HMGA1 pathway

Circ_0071589 contributes to growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis of colorectal cancer through regulating miR-296-5p/EN2 axis

To explore the function and regulation mechanism of circ_0071589 in colorectal cancer (CRC). The expression levels of circ_0071589, microRNA-296-5p (miR-296-5p), and Engrailed-2 (EN2) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Western blot was performed to check the protein levels of EN2 and apoptosis-related proteins. Cell colony formation and 5-Ethynyl-29-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay were used to exhibit cell proliferation. Cell apoptosis was shown by flow cytometry. Tube formation assay manifested the angiogenesis ability of CRC cells. Transwell assay demonstrated cell migration and invasion. The interaction between miR-296-5p and circ_0071589 or EN2 was identified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The effect of circ_0071589 on tumor formation was demonstrated by in vivo tumor formation experiments. Immunohistochemical (IHC) assay was used to detect the positive cell rate of Ki67 in tumor tissue. Circ_0071589 was upregulated in CRC tissue and cells. Circ_0071589 knockdown repressed CRC cells proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, invasion, and promoted cell apoptosis. MiR-296-5p was downregulated in CRC tissue and cells. And miR-296-5p inhibitor could reverse the malignant phenotypes and angiogenesis inhibition of CRC cells caused by circ_0071589 knockdown. Additionally, miR-296-5p decreased CRC cell colony formation, EdU-positive cells, angiogenesis, and increased cell apoptosis through reducing the expression level of EN2. Finally, circ_0071589 silencing inhibited tumor formation in vivo. Circ_0071589 upregulated EN2 expression through sponging miR-296-5p, thereby promoting the malignant phenotype and angiogenesis of CRC cells, which provided a new target for the treatment of CRC.

MicroRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs and gynecological cancers: focus on metastasis

Gynecologic cancer is a significant cause of death in women worldwide, with cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer being among the most well-known types. The initiation and progression of gynecologic cancers involve a variety of biological functions, including angiogenesis and metastasis-given that death mostly occurs from metastatic tumors that have invaded the surrounding tissues. Therefore, understanding the molecular pathways underlying gynecologic cancer metastasis is critical for enhancing patient survival and outcomes. Recent research has revealed the contribution of numerous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) to metastasis and invasion of gynecologic cancer by affecting specific cellular pathways. This review focuses on three types of gynecologic cancer (ovarian, endometrial, and cervical) and three kinds of ncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, and circular RNAs). We summarize the detailed role of non-coding RNAs in the different pathways and molecular interactions involved in the invasion and metastasis of these cancers.

Evaluation of lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 as a Biomarker for Early-Stage Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Subtype Identification

Purpose

Lung cancer (LC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. More and more long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) are associated with cancer. This study aimed to assess whether plasma lncRNA could be used to diagnose early-stage LC and identify subtypes of LC.

Methods

For bioinformatic analysis, we used genetic data from the Cancer Genome Atlas, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) datasets and a small cell lung cancer (SCLC) dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to examine the relative expression of lncRNA in LC tissues and plasma samples. The patients' clinical information was obtained at the time of sample collection.

Results

According to public datasets, the lncRNA forkhead box D3 antisense 1 (FOXD3-AS1) was significantly upregulated in LUAD, LUSC, and SCLC tissues over controls. RT-qPCR assays confirmed this finding in LUAD, LUSC, and SCLC tissues and plasma samples. Even early-stage receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that plasma FOXD3-AS1 could be used to discriminate LUAD, LUSC, and SCLC from normal controls and identify LC subtypes SCLC.

Conclusion

FOXD3-AS1 is significantly upregulated in LC tissues and plasma. FOXD3-AS1 could be a potential biomarker for LC subtype identification and early diagnosis.

The activation of M 3 muscarinic receptor reverses liver injuryvia the Sp1/lncRNA Gm2199/miR-212 axis

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (MRs) play important roles in the regulation of hepatic fibrosis and the receptor agonists and antagonists can affect hepatocyte proliferation. However, little is known about the impact of M ₃R subtypes and associated signaling pathways on liver injury. The aim of this study is to explore the function and mechanism of M ₃R in the regulation of liver injury. We evaluate liver injury and detect the changes in related indexes, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), hydroxyproline (HYP), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), after administration of an M ₃R agonist. Western blot analysis and qRT-PCR show that the transcription factor Sp1 and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) Gm2199 are also changed significantly. Rescue assay is performed to further confirm that M ₃R contributes to the progression of hepatocyte proliferation through regulating Sp1 and Gm2199. The activated M ₃R can specifically regulate Gm2199 by inhibiting the expression of Sp1. Meanwhile, Gm2199 directly regulates miR-212, and ERK is a potential target of miR-212. Collectively, these findings define a novel mechanism for activating M ₃R to reverse liver injury, which affects hepatocyte proliferation through the Sp1/Gm 2199/miR-212/ERK axis.

LncRNA FOXD3-AS1 promotes breast cancer progression by mediating ARF6

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumor in women. The high metastatic characteristics cause a high mortality rate of breast cancer. Increasing number of studies have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in the progression of human cancers including breast cancer. In this study, we studied the expression and molecular mechanisms of lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 in breast cancer.

METHODS

The expression of lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 was analyzed by TCGA database and RT-qPCR assay. CCK8 assay was used to measure cell proliferation ability. Cell migration and invasion capacities were detected by transwell assay. Potential targets of lncRNA and miRNA were predicted by bioinformatic tools. The targeting relationship between genes was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The nude mice tumor model was performed to study the effect of FOXD3-AS1 on breast cancer in vivo. Protein expression was detected by western blot.

RESULTS

In the present study, we found that the FOXD3-AS1 expression was significantly increased in breast cancer tissues compared with normal tissues and involved in the poor prognosis of patients. Functionally, knockdown of FOXD3-AS1 suppressed cell proliferation and metastasis abilities in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, FOXD3-AS1 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to upregulate ARF6 expression by targeting miR-127-3p. In addition, the roles of FOXD3-AS1 on cell proliferation and metastasis were achieved through miR-127-3p/ARF6 axis.

CONCLUSION

In summary, our results reported the regulatory mechanism of FOXD3-AS1 in breast cancer progression by targeting miR-127-3p/ARF6 axis to affect cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor growth.

Emerging Roles and Mechanisms of lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 in Human Diseases

Numerous long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as powerful regulators of human diseases. The lncRNA FOXD3-AS1 is a novel lncRNA that was recently shown to exert imperative roles in the initialization and progression of several diseases. Emerging studies have shown aberrant expression of FOXD3-AS1 and close correlation with pathophysiological traits of numerous diseases, particularly cancers. More importantly, FOXD3-AS1 was also found to ubiquitously impact a range of biological functions. This study aims to summarize the expression, associated clinicopathological features, major functions and molecular mechanisms of FOXD3-AS1 in human diseases and to explore its possible clinical applications.

The Value of miR-296 and miR-517c in Evaluating the Prognosis of Patients with Glioma after Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy

Objective

To explore the value of miR-296 and miR-517c in evaluating the prognosis of patients with glioma after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Methods

732 patients with glioma were selected from January 2012 to January 2018. According to the effect of postoperative chemotherapy, the patients were divided into two groups: the effective group and the ineffective group. The serum miR-296, miR-517c, and clinicopathological parameters of the two groups before chemotherapy were compared. The factors affecting the sensitivity of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and the predictive efficacy of miR-296 and miR-517c on the prognosis of patients were analyzed.

Results

The expression level of miR-296 in glioma tissue was significantly correlated with tumor pathological grade and depth of invasion (P < 0.05), and the expression level of miR-296 in glioma tissue was significantly correlated with tumor pathological grade (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that tumor size, WHO grade, and serum miR-296 and miR-517c levels were all factors affecting chemosensitivity (P < 0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and AUC of serum miR-296 prediction were 76.95%, 89.64%, 85.35%, and 0.891, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and AUC of serum miR-517c prediction were 72.81%, 86.50%, 82.19%, and 0.739, respectively.

Conclusion

miR-296 and miR-517c are closely related to the chemosensitivity and prognosis of glioma patients. High levels of miR-296 and miR-517c can enhance chemosensitivity and serve as reliable indexes to predict the prognosis of patients with glioma.

LncRNA FOXD3-AS1 Promotes Tumorigenesis of Glioma via Targeting miR-128-3p/SZRD1 Axis

Background

The aim of the current study was to investigate the roles of LncRNA FOXD3-AS1 (FOXD3-AS1) in the glioma progression, and its underlying mechanism of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network of FOXD3-AS1/miR-128-3p/SZRD1.

Materials and Methods

The FOXD3-AS1 expression and its prognostic relation were detected by bioinformatics tool. Next, glioma cell lines (HS683, U251, T98G, and SNB-19) were used to verify the FOXD3-AS1 expression. Furthermore, the roles of the FOXD3-AS1/miR-128-3p/SZRD1 axis on the glioma development in vitro and in vivo were examined.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis showed that FOXD3-AS1 was upregulated in the glioma and linked with poor prognosis. Consistently, FOXD3-AS1 level was overexpressed in the glioma cell lines (HS683 and U251). Subsequently, we verified that silencing of FOXD3-AS1 (si-FOXD3-AS1) restrained the cell proliferation, invasion, and tumor growth in vivo, and induced G0/G1 arrest, and promoted apoptosis. Further study also stated that FOXD3-AS1 interacted with miR-128-3p and SZRD1 was the target gene of miR-128-3p. Moreover, overexpression of miR-128-3p restrained the cell proliferation and metastasis of glioma, and reduced the SZRD1 level. Rescue assay illustrated that miR-128-3p inhibitor could reverse the suppressive impact of si-FOXD3-AS1 on the glioma progression. Similarly, SZRD1 overexpression could neutralize the influences of miR-128-3p mimic on glioma progression.

Conclusion

FOXD3-AS1 promoted the tumorigenesis of glioma, and exerted its function to modulate SZRD1 by targeting miR-128-3p.

Exploration of potential therapeutic and prognostic value of CXC chemokines in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma based on bioinformatics analysis

Cervical cancer, as the second most common female malignancy, brings a great health burden to women worldwide. Cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) are the most common histological subtypes of cervical cancer. CXC chemokines (CXCLs) within the tumor microenvironment can modulate carcinogenesis and progression. The present study aimed to explore the therapeutic and prognostic value of different CXCLs in CESC. ONCOMINE, GEPIA, cBioPortal, TRRUST, GeneMANIA, STRING and TIMER were utilized to explore the expression, mutation and function of CXCLs in CESC, as well as their correlation with pathological and survival features of CESC patients. We found that the mRNA expression levels of CXCL1/8/9/10/11/13/16/17 in CESC were upregulated compared with normal cervical tissues, whereas CXCL12 was downregulated. No significant correlation was found between the expression levels and pathological stage of CESC patients. CESC patients with high expression of CXCL1/2/3/4/5/8 were significantly associated with poor overall survival, additionally, low mRNA level of CXCL3 was associated with better disease-free survival. Besides, a high mutation rate (43%) of CXCLs in CESC was observed. Depicted by co-expression analysis, the expression of CXCL1/2/3/6/8 showed a modest to strong correlation, while that of CXCL9/10/11/13 showed a very strong correlation. Differentially expressed CXCLs primarily functioned in chemokine signaling pathway and inflammation response, such as cell chemotaxis, chemokine activity and chemokine receptor binding. We also found the association of CXCLs with the tumor-infiltration of six types of immune cells (B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells) in CESC patients. The present study elucidated that CXCLs may have the potential to be novel therapeutic targets and prognosis predictors of CESC patients.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0000511 Improves Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition of Cervical Cancer by Regulating hsa-mir-296-5p/HMGA1

As the second largest gynecological cancer, cervical cancer has been widely reported in recent years in which circular RNA is involved in the disease process. We earlier found that the expression of hsa_circ_0000511 in cervical cancer cells increased significantly, but its role in the process of cervical cancer is not clear. The purpose of this study is to explore its possible mechanisms in cervical cancer. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), cell counting kit-8 assay, Transwell test, cell transfection, RNA pull-down assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay, and Western blot analysis were used to detect the expression and distribution of hsa_circ_0000511 in SiHa and HeLa cells, the ability of invasion and proliferation, and the modulated relationships between hsa_circ_0000511 and hsa-mir-296-5p, hsa-mir-296-5p, and HMGA1. hsa_circ_0000511 had the highest expression in SiHa and HeLa cells, and the expression in the cytoplasm was significantly higher than that in the nucleus, and its expression was not affected by RNase R. When hsa_circ_0000511 was silenced, its expression in SiHa and HeLa cells was significantly decreased; the proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities of the two kinds of cells were significantly enhanced; and the protein expression of E-cadherin was significantly upregulated, while the protein expression of N-cadherin was significantly downregulated. The expression of hsa-mir-296-5p was lower in SiHa and HeLa cells; however, its expression was increased when hsa_circ_0000511 was inhibited and decreased when hsa_circ_0000511 was overexpressed, so did the ability of proliferation, invasion, and migration and the protein expression of E-cadherin. Interestingly, the protein expression of HMGA1 also changed in these two cells when hsa-mir-296-5p was inhibited or overexpressed. Our results indicate that the upregulated hsa_circ_0000511 can inhibit the proliferation, invasion, and migration of SiHa and HeLa cells by regulating hsa-mir-296-5p/HMGA1, suggesting that the hsa_circ_0000511/hsa-mir-296-5p/HMGA1 pathway may be a potential target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

An Overview of Long Non-Coding (lnc)RNAs in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a heterogeneous developmental tumor occurring in childhood, which arises from the embryonic sympathoadrenal cells of the neural crest. Although the recent progress that has been done on this tumor, the mechanisms involved in NB are still partially unknown. Despite some genetic aberrations having been identified, the sporadic cases represent the majority. Due to its wide heterogeneity in clinical behavior and etiology, NB represents a challenge in terms of prevention and treatment. Since a definitive therapy is lacking so far, there is an urgent necessity to unveil the molecular mechanisms behind NB onset and progression to develop new therapeutic approaches. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a group of RNAs longer than 200 nucleotides. Whether lncRNAs are destined to become a protein or not, they exert multiple biological functions such as regulating gene expression and functions. In recent decades, different research has highlighted the possible role of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cancer. Moreover, lncRNAs may represent potential markers or targets for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This mini-review aimed to briefly summarize the most recent findings on the involvement of some lncRNAs in NB disease by focusing on their mechanisms of action and possible role in unveiling NB onset and progression.

LINC00680 enhances hepatocellular carcinoma stemness behavior and chemoresistance by sponging miR-568 to upregulate AKT3

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has an extremely poor prognosis due to the development of chemoresistance, coupled with inherently increased stemness properties. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are key regulators for tumor cell stemness and chemosensitivity. Currently the relevance between LINC00680 and tumor progression was still largely unknown, with only one study showing its significance in glioblastoma. The study herein was aimed at identifying the role of LINC00680 in the regulation HCC stemness and chemosensitivity.

METHODS

QRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of LINC00680, miR-568 and AKT3 in tissue specimen and cell lines. Gain- or loss-of function assays were applied to access the function of LINC00680 in HCC cells, including cell proliferation and stemness properties. HCC stemness and chemosensitivity were determined by sphere formation, cell viability and colony formation. Luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and RNA pull-down assays were performed to examine the interaction between LINC00680 and miR-568 as well as that between miR-568 and AKT3. A nude mouse xenograft model was established for the in vivo study.

RESULTS

We found that LINC00680 was remarkably upregulated in HCC tissues. Patients with high level of LINC00680 had poorer prognosis. LINC00680 overexpression significantly enhanced HCC cell stemness and decreased in vitro and in vivo chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), whereas LINC00680 knockdown led to opposite results. Mechanism study revealed that LINC00680 regulated HCC stemness and chemosensitivity through sponging miR-568, thereby expediting the expression of AKT3, which further activated its downstream signaling molecules, including mTOR, elF4EBP1, and p70S6K.

CONCLUSION

LINC00680 promotes HCC stemness properties and decreases chemosensitivity through sponging miR-568 to activate AKT3, suggesting that LINC00680 might be a potentially important HCC diagnosis marker and therapeutic target.