The miR-532-3p/Chrdl1 axis regulates the proliferation and migration of amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stromal cells

CHRDL1 inhibits OSCC metastasis via MAPK signaling-mediated inhibition of MED29

BACKGROUND

CHRDL1 belongs to a novel class of mRNA molecules. Nonetheless, the specific biological functions and underlying mechanisms of CHRDL1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain largely unexplored.

METHODS

RT-qPCR and immunohistochemical staining were employed to assess the mRNA and protein expression levels of the MED29 gene in clinical samples of OSCC. Additionally, RT-qPCR and Western Blot analyses were conducted to investigate the mRNA and protein expression levels of the MED29 gene specifically in OSCC. The impact of MED29 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and migration of OSCC was evaluated through scratch assay, transwell assay, and immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, wound healing assay and Transwell assay were utilized to examine whether CHRDL1 influences the malignant behavior of OSCC by modulating MED29 in vitro. The regulatory role of CHRDL1 on MED29 was further elucidated in vivo through a tail vein lung metastasis model in nude mice.

RESULTS

MED29 expression was elevated in tumor tissues of OSCC patients compared with adjacent cancer tissues. Moreover, in CAL27 and SCC25 cell lines, MED29 was upregulated and associated with increased cell migration and invasion abilities. Overexpression of MED29 facilitated EMT in OSCC cell lines, whereas knockdown of MED29 impeded EMT, resulting in diminished cell migration and invasion capacities. CHRDL1 exerted inhibitory effects on the expression of MED29, thereby suppressing EMT progression and consequently restraining the invasion and migration of OSCC cells. Furthermore, CHRDL1 mediated the inhibition of migration of OSCC cell lines to the OSCC through its regulation of MED29.

CONCLUSIONS

MED29 facilitated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in OSCC, thereby promoting migration and invasion. On the other hand, CHRDL1 exerted inhibitory effects on the invasion and metastasis of OSCC by suppressing MED29 through the inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway.

Twisting the theory on the origin of human umbilical cord coiling featuring monozygotic twins

The human umbilical cord (hUC) is the lifeline that connects the fetus to the mother. Hypercoiling of the hUC is associated with pre- and perinatal morbidity and mortality. We investigated the origin of hUC hypercoiling using state-of-the-art imaging and omics approaches. Macroscopic inspection of the hUC revealed the helices to originate from the arteries rather than other components of the hUC. Digital reconstruction of the hUC arteries showed the dynamic alignment of two layers of muscle fibers in the tunica media aligning in opposing directions. We observed that genetically identical twins can be discordant for hUC coiling, excluding genetic, many environmental, and parental origins of hUC coiling. Comparing the transcriptomic and DNA methylation profile of the hUC arteries of four twin pairs with discordant cord coiling, we detected 28 differentially expressed genes, but no differentially methylated CpGs. These genes play a role in vascular development, cell-cell interaction, and axis formation and may account for the increased number of hUC helices. When combined, our results provide a novel framework to understand the origin of hUC helices in fetal development.

Higher Maternal Body Mass Index Is Associated With Lower Placental Expression of EPYC: A Genome-Wide Transcriptomic Study

CONTEXT

Elevated body mass index (BMI) in pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. The placental transcriptome may elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying these associations.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the association of first-trimester maternal BMI with the placental transcriptome in the Gen3G prospective cohort.

METHODS

We enrolled participants at 5 to 16 weeks of gestation and measured height and weight. We collected placenta samples at delivery. We performed whole-genome RNA sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and aligned RNA sequences based on the GTEx v8 pipeline. We conducted differential gene expression analysis of over 15 000 genes from 450 placental samples and reported the change in normalized gene expression per 1-unit increase in log2 BMI (kg/m2) as a continuous variable using Limma Voom. We adjusted models for maternal age, fetal sex, gestational age at delivery, gravidity, and surrogate variables accounting for technical variability. We compared participants with BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 mg/kg2 (N = 257) vs those with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2, N = 82) in secondary analyses.

RESULTS

Participants' mean ± SD age was 28.2 ± 4.4 years and BMI was 25.4 ± 5.5 kg/m2 in early pregnancy. Higher maternal BMI was associated with lower placental expression of EPYC (slope = -1.94, false discovery rate [FDR]-adjusted P = 7.3 × 10-6 for continuous BMI; log2 fold change = -1.35, FDR-adjusted P = 3.4 × 10-3 for BMI ≥30 vs BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) and with higher placental expression of IGFBP6, CHRDL1, and CXCL13 after adjustment for covariates and accounting for multiple testing (FDR < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our genome-wide transcriptomic study revealed novel genes potentially implicated in placental biologic response to higher maternal BMI in early pregnancy.

A prognostic model based on regulatory T-cell-related genes in gastric cancer: Systematic construction and validation

Human gastrointestinal tumours have been shown to contain massive numbers of tumour infiltrating regulatory T cells (Tregs), the presence of which are closely related to tumour immunity. This study was designed to develop new Treg-related prognostic biomarkers to monitor the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC). Treg-related prognostic genes were screened from Treg-related differentially expressed genes in GC patients by using Cox regression analysis, based on which a prognostic model was constructed. Then, combined with RiskScore, survival curve, survival status assessment and ROC analysis, these genes were used to verify the accuracy of the model, whose independent prognostic ability was also evaluated. Six Treg-related prognostic genes (CHRDL1, APOC3, NPTX1, TREML4, MCEMP1, GH2) in GC were identified, and a 6-gene Treg-related prognostic model was constructed. Survival analysis revealed that patients had a higher survival rate in the low-risk group. Combining clinicopathological features, we performed univariate and multivariate regression analyses, with results establishing that the RiskScore was an independent prognostic factor. Predicted 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of GC patients had a good fit with the actual survival rates according to nomogram results. In addition patients in the low-risk group had higher tumour mutational burden (TMB) values. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) demonstrated that genes in the high-risk group were significantly enriched in pathways related to immune inflammation, tumour proliferation and migration. In general, we constructed a 6-gene Treg-associated GC prognostic model with good prediction accuracy, where RiskScore could act as an independent prognostic factor. This model is expected to provide a reference for clinicians to estimate the prognosis of GC patients.

Applications of human amniotic fluid stem cells in wound healing

ABSTRACT

Complete wound regeneration preserves skin structure and physiological functions, including sensation and perception of stimuli, whereas incomplete wound regeneration results in fibrosis and scarring. Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) would be a kind of cell population with self-renewing and non-immunogenic ability that have a considerable role in wound generation. They are easy to harvest, culture, and store; moreover, they are non-tumorigenic and not subject to ethical restrictions. They can differentiate into different kinds of cells that replenish the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and accessory organs. Additionally, AFSCs independently produce paracrine effectors and secrete them in exosomes, thereby modulating local immune cell activity. They demonstrate anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, regulate the physicochemical microenvironment of the wound, and promote full wound regeneration. Thus, AFSCs are potential resources in stem cell therapy, especially in scar-free wound healing. This review describes the biological characteristics and clinical applications of AFSCs in treating wounds and provide new ideas for the treatment of wound healing.

Chordin-like 1 is a novel prognostic biomarker and correlative with immune cell infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma

Chordin-like 1 (CHRDL1), an inhibitor of bone morphogenetic proteins(BMPs), has been recently reported to participate in the progression of numerous tumors, however, its role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. Our study aimed to demonstrate relationship between CHRDL1 and LUAD based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Among them, CHRDL1 expression revealed promising power for distinguishing LUAD tissues form normal sample. Low CHRDL1 was correlated with poor clinicopathologic features, including high T stage (OR=0.45, P<0.001), high N stage (OR=0.57, P<0.003), bad treatment effect (OR=0.64, P=0.047), positive tumor status (OR=0.63, P=0.018), and TP53 mutation (OR=0.49, P<0.001). The survival curve illustrated that low CHRDL1 was significantly correlative with a poor overall survival (HR=0.60, P<0.001). At multivariate Cox regression analysis, CHRDL1 remained independently correlative with overall survival. GSEA identified that the CHRDL1 expression was related to cell cycle and immunoregulation. Immune infiltration analysis suggested that CHRDL1 was significantly correlative with 7 kinds of immune cells. Immunohistochemical validation showed that CHRDL1 was abnormally elevated and negatively correlated with Th2 cells in LUAD tissues. In conclusion, CHRDL1 might become a novel prognostic biomarker and therapy target in LUAD. Moreover, CHRDL1 may improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy by regulating immune infiltration.

Key Modules and Hub Genes Identified by Coexpression Network Analysis for Revealing Novel Biomarkers for Spina Bifida

Spina bifida is a common neural tube defect (NTD) accounting for 5–10% of perinatal mortalities. As a polygenic disease, spina bifida is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, for which the precise molecular pathogenesis is still not systemically understood. In the present study, we aimed to identify the related gene module that might play a vital role in the occurrence and development of spina bifida by using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Transcription profiling according to an array of human amniocytes from patients with spina bifida and healthy controls was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. First, outliers were identified and removed by principal component analysis (PCA) and sample clustering. Then, genes in the top 25% of variance in the GSE4182 dataset were then determined in order to explore candidate genes in potential hub modules using WGCNA. After data preprocessing, 5407 genes were obtained for further WGCNA. Highly correlated genes were divided into nineteen modules. Combined with a co-expression network and significant differentially expressed genes, 967 candidate genes were identified that may be involved in the pathological processes of spina bifida. Combined with our previous microRNA (miRNA) microarray results, we constructed an miRNA–mRNA network including four miRNAs and 39 mRNA among which three key genes were, respectively, linked to two miRNA-associated gene networks. Following the verification of qRT-PCR and KCND3 was upregulated in the spina bifida. KCND3 and its related miR-765 and miR-142-3p are worthy of further study. These findings may be conducive for early detection and intervention in spina bifida, as well as be of great significance to pregnant women and clinical staff.