FAST1 promotes the migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells

Mechanism of Dcp2/RNCR3/Dkc1/Snora62 axis regulating neuronal apoptosis in chronic cerebral ischemia

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) were found to play crucial regulatory roles in ischemic injury. Based on GEO databases and our experimental results, we selected Dcp2, lncRNA-RNCR3, Dkc1, and Snora62 and Foxh1 as research candidates. We found that expression levels of Dcp2, RNCR3, Dkc1, Snora62, and Foxh1 were upregulated in oxygen glucose deprivation-treated HT22 cells and hippocampal tissues subject to chronic cerebral ischemia (CCI). Silencing of Dcp2, RNCR3, Dkc1, Snora62, and Foxh1 all inhibited apoptosis of oxygen glucose deprivation-treated HT22 cells. Moreover, Dcp2 promoted RNCR3 expression by increasing its stability. Importantly, RNCR3 may act as a molecular skeleton to bind to Dkc1 and recruit Dck1 to promote snoRNP assembly. Snora62 was responsible for pseudouridylation at 28S rRNA U3507 and U3509 sites. Pseudouridylation levels of 28S rRNA were reduced after knockdown of Snora62. Decreased pseudouridylation levels inhibited the translational activity of its downstream target, Foxh1. Our study further confirmed that Foxh1 transcriptionally promoted the expression of Bax and Fam162a. Notably, experiments in vivo showed that Dcp2 knockdown combined with RNCR3 knockdown and Snora62 knockdown resulted in an anti-apoptosis effect. In conclusion, this study suggests that the axis Dcp2/RNCR3/Dkc1/Snora621 is important for the regulation of neuronal apoptosis induced by CCI.

Homozygous mutation of foxh1 arrests oogenesis causing infertility in female Nile tilapia†

Foxh1, a member of fox gene family, was first characterized as a transcriptional partner in the formation of the Smad protein complex. Recent studies have shown foxh1 is highly expressed in the cytoplasm of oocytes in both tilapia and mouse. However, its function in oogenesis remains unexplored. In the present study, foxh1-/- tilapia was created by CRISPR/Cas9. At 180 dah (days after hatching), the foxh1-/- XX fish showed oogenesis arrest and a significantly lower GSI. The transition of oocytes from phase II to phase III and follicle cells from one to two layers was blocked, resulting in infertility of the mutant. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that expression of genes involved in estrogen synthesis and oocyte growth were altered in the foxh1-/- ovaries. Loss of foxh1 resulted in significantly decreased Cyp19a1a and increased Cyp11b2 expression, consistent with significantly lower concentrations of serum estradiol-17β (E2) and higher concentrations of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT). Moreover, administration of E2 rescued the phenotypes of foxh1-/- XX fish, as indicated by the appearance of phase III and IV oocytes and absence of Cyp11b2 expression. Taken together, these results suggest that foxh1 functions in the oocytes to regulate oogenesis by promoting cyp19a1a expression, and therefore estrogen production. Disruption of foxh1 may block the estrogen synthesis and oocyte growth, leading to the arrest of oogenesis and thus infertility in tilapia.

Design, synthesis and antitumor activity evaluation of trifluoromethyl-substituted pyrimidine derivatives

In order to find efficient new antitumor drugs, a series of novel trifluoromethyl-substituted pyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesized, and the bioactivity against four human tumor cells (PC-3, MGC-803, MCF-7 and H1975) was evaluated by MTT assay. Compound 17v displayed potent anti-proliferative activity on H1975 (IC₅₀=2.27 μΜ), which was better than the positive control 5-FU (IC₅₀=9.37 μΜ). Further biological evaluation studies showed that compound 17v induced apoptosis of H1975 cells and arrested the cell cycle at G2/M phase. Furthermore, compound 17v induced H1975 cells apoptosis through increasing the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and p53 and down-regulating the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. In addition, compound 17v was able to be tightly embedded in the active pocket of EGFR. In summary, these results demonstrated that compound 17v has a potential as a lead compound for further investigation.

FOXH1 promotes lung cancer progression by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

The expression of forkhead box protein H1 (FOXH1) is frequently upregulated in various cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the association between FOXH1 expression and lung cancer progression still remain poorly understood. Thus, the main objective of this study is to explore the role of FOXH1 in lung cancer.

METHODS

The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset was used to investigate FOXH1 expression in lung cancer tissues, and the Kaplan-Meier plotter dataset was used to determine the role of FOXH1 in patient prognosis. A549 and PC9 cells were transfected with short hairpin RNA targeting FOXH1 mRNA. The Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation, soft agar, wound healing, transwell invasion and flow cytometry assays were performed to evaluate proliferation, migration and invasion of lung cancer cells. Tumorigenicity was examined in a BALB/c nude mice model. Western blot analysis was performed to assess the molecular mechanisms, and β-catenin activity was measured by a luciferase reporter system assay.

RESULTS

Higher expression level of FOXH1 was observed in tumor tissue than in normal tissue, and this was associated with poor overall survival. Knockdown of FOXH1 significantly inhibited lung cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and cycle. In addition, the mouse xenograft model showed that knockdown of FOXH1 suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Further experiments revealed that FOXH1 depletion inhibited the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of lung cancer cells by downregulating the expression of mesenchymal markers (Snail, Slug, matrix metalloproteinase-2, N-cadherin, and Vimentin) and upregulating the expression of an epithelial marker (E-cadherin). Moreover, knockdown of FOXH1 significantly downregulated the activity of β-catenin and its downstream targets, p-GSK-3β and cyclin D1.

CONCLUSION

FOXH1 exerts oncogenic functions in lung cancer through regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. FOXH1 might be a potential therapeutic target for patients with certain types of lung cancer.

FAST1 Predicts Poor Survival of Renal Carcinoma and Promotes Its Progression Through the TGF-β/Smad Pathway

Purpose

Renal carcinoma (RC) originates in the renal tubular epithelial system, among which renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most frequent one. The forkhead activin signal transducer 1 (FAST1) has been shown to interfere with tumor progression as an oncogene, while its role in RC is limited. Therefore, this paper explored the prognostic significance, specific effects, and related mechanisms of FAST1 on RC.

Patients and Methods

Cell colony formation assay, cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay, flow cytometry and Transwell assay were used to test cell proliferation, viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion, respectively. Western blot (WB) was employed to determine the protein level of FAST1.

Results

Our study confirmed that FAST1 was up-regulated in RC tissues and cell lines, and its overexpression often represented a poor prognosis of RC patients. Meanwhile, the in vitro experiments showed that overexpressing FAST1 facilitated RC cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and repressed cell apoptosis. In addition, the in vivo experiments illustrated that the up-regulation of FAST1 strengthened tumor growth. On the contrary, knocking down FAST1 had the opposite effects. Mechanistically, The TGF-β/Smad pathway contributed to RC evolvement and was activated by FAST1 both in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusion

This article suggests that FAST1 exerts a carcinogenic role in RC by regulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling.