LncRNA MITA1 promotes gefitinib resistance by inducing autophagy in lung cancer cells

The role of LncRNA-mediated autophagy in cancer progression

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a sort of transcripts that are more than 200 nucleotides in length. In recent years, many studies have revealed the modulatory role of lncRNAs in cancer. Typically, lncRNAs are linked to a variety of essential events, such as apoptosis, cellular proliferation, and the invasion of malignant cells. Simultaneously, autophagy, an essential intracellular degradation mechanism in eukaryotic cells, is activated to respond to multiple stressful circumstances, for example, nutrient scarcity, accumulation of abnormal proteins, and organelle damage. Autophagy plays both suppressive and promoting roles in cancer. Increasingly, studies have unveiled how dysregulated lncRNAs expression can disrupt autophagic balance, thereby contributing to cancer progression. Consequently, exploring the interplay between lncRNAs and autophagy holds promising implications for clinical research. In this manuscript, we methodically compiled the advances in the molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs and autophagy and briefly summarized the implications of the lncRNA-mediated autophagy axis.

Prognostic significance of LINC01132 in lung cancer and its regulatory role in tumor progression

BACKGROUND

The application of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer has been the focus of research in recent years. This study aimed to discuss the expression and functional mechanism of lncRNA LINC01132 (LINC01132) in lung cancer and explore its prognostic significance in tumors.

METHODS

The expression of LINC01132 in lung cancer patients was verified using GSE98929 screening and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) detection. The prognostic potential of LINC01132 was evaluated by performing the chi-square analysis of clinical indicators, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazard model. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, and Transwell assay were used to characterize the biological functions of the lung cancer cells. The targeting relationship between LINC01132 and microRNA-125a-3p (miR-125a-3p), miR-125a-3p and SMAD2 was predicted by bioinformatics and verified by luciferase activity assay.

RESULTS

LINC01132 was upregulated in lung cancer tissues and cells, which was an independent risk factor for survival and prognostic outcomes of lung cancer patients. Silencing LINC01132 suppressed the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells and accelerated cell death. The target of LINC01132 was miR-125a-3p, and miR-125a-3p inhibitor could eliminate the inhibitory effect of LINC01132 knockdown on the cells. Additionally, SMAD2 is a downstream target of miR-125a-3p, and knockdown of SMAD2 reversed the effects of miR-125a-3p inhibitor on cell migration and invasion.

CONCLUSION

LINC01132 may regulate the progression of lung cancer by targeting the miR-125a-3p /SMAD2 axis and serve as a prognostic biomarker for lung cancer.

Autophagy-related lncRNAs in tumor progression and drug resistance: A double-edged sword

The incidence and mortality rates of cancer are increasing every year worldwide but the survival rate of cancer patients is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, it is necessary to further elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in tumor development and drug resistance to improve cancer cure or survival rates. In recent years, autophagy has become a hot topic in the field of oncology research, which plays a double-edged role in tumorigenesis, progression, and drug resistance. Meanwhile, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has also been shown to regulate autophagy, and the two-sided nature of autophagy determines the dual regulatory role of autophagy-related lncRNAs (ARlncRNAs). Therefore, ARlncRNAs can be effective therapeutic targets for various cancers. Furthermore, the high abundance and stability of ARlncRNAs in tumor tissues make them promising biomarkers. In this review, we summarized the roles and mechanisms of ARlncRNAs in tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, drug resistance, angiogenesis, radiation resistance, and immune regulation. In addition, we described the clinical significance of these ARlncRNAs, including as biomarkers/therapeutic targets and their association with clinical drugs.

Long non-coding RNAs: controversial roles in drug resistance of solid tumors mediated by autophagy

Current genome-wide studies have indicated that a great number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcribed from the human genome and appeared as crucial regulators in a variety of cellular processes. Many studies have displayed a significant function of lncRNAs in the regulation of autophagy. Autophagy is a macromolecular procedure in cells in which intracellular substrates and damaged organelles are broken down and recycled to relieve cell stress resulting from nutritional deprivation, irradiation, hypoxia, and cytotoxic agents. Autophagy can be a double-edged sword and play either a protective or a damaging role in cells depending on its activation status and other cellular situations, and its dysregulation is related to tumorigenesis in various solid tumors. Autophagy induced by various therapies has been shown as a unique mechanism of resistance to anti-cancer drugs. Growing evidence is showing the important role of lncRNAs in modulating drug resistance via the regulation of autophagy in a variety of cancers. The role of lncRNAs in drug resistance of cancers is controversial; they may promote or suppress drug resistance via either activation or inhibition of autophagy. Mechanisms by which lncRNAs regulate autophagy to affect drug resistance are different, mainly mediated by the negative regulation of micro RNAs. In this review, we summarize recent studies that investigated the role of lncRNAs/autophagy axis in drug resistance of different types of solid tumors.

H1Innovative approaches to combat anti-cancer drug resistance: Targeting lncRNA and autophagy

BACKGROUND

To date, standardizing clinical predictive biomarkers for assessing the response to immunotherapy remains challenging due to variations in personal genetic signatures, tumour microenvironment complexities and epigenetic onco-mechanisms.

MAIN BODY

Early monitoring of key non-coding RNA (ncRNA) biomarkers may help in predicting the clinical efficacy of cancer immunotherapy and come up with standard predictive ncRNA biomarkers. For instance, reduced miR-125b-5p level in the plasma of non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1 predicts a positive outcome. The level of miR-153 in the plasma of colorectal cancer patients treated with chimeric antigen receptor T lymphocyte (CAR-T) cell therapy may indicate the activation of T-cell killing activity. miR-148a-3p and miR-375 levels may forecast favourable responses to CAR-T-cell therapy in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In cancer patients treated with the GPC3 peptide vaccine, serum levels of miR-1228-5p, miR-193a-5p and miR-375-3p were reported as predictive biomarkers of good response and improved overall survival. Therefore, there is a critical need for further studies to elaborate on the key ncRNA biomarkers that have the potential to predict early clinical responses to immunotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

This review summarises important predictive ncRNA biomarkers that were reported in cancer patients treated with different immunotherapeutic modalities including monoclonal antibodies, small molecule inhibitors, cancer vaccines and CAR-T cells. In addition, a concise discussion on forthcoming perspectives is provided, outlining technical approaches for the optimal utilisation of immune-modulatory ncRNA biomarkers as predictive tools and therapeutic targets.

Long non-coding RNAs in non-small cell lung cancer: implications for EGFR-TKI resistance

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common types of malignant tumors as well as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. The application of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has dramatically improved the prognosis of NSCLC patients who harbor EGFR mutations. However, despite an excellent initial response, NSCLC inevitably becomes resistant to EGFR-TKIs, leading to irreversible disease progression. Hence, it is of great significance to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the EGFR-TKI resistance in NSCLC. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are critical gene modulators that are able to act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors that modulate tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Recently, extensive evidence demonstrates that lncRNAs also have a significant function in modulating EGFR-TKI resistance in NSCLC. In this review, we present a comprehensive summary of the lncRNAs involved in EGFR-TKI resistance in NSCLC and focus on their detailed mechanisms of action, including activation of alternative bypass signaling pathways, phenotypic transformation, intercellular communication in the tumor microenvironment, competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) networks, and epigenetic modifications. In addition, we briefly discuss the limitations and the clinical implications of current lncRNAs research in this field.

Targeting Autophagy Using Long Non-Coding RNAs (LncRNAs): New Landscapes in the Arena of Cancer Therapeutics

Cancer has become a global health hazard accounting for 10 million deaths in the year 2020. Although different treatment approaches have increased patient overall survival, treatment for advanced stages still suffers from poor clinical outcomes. The ever-increasing prevalence of cancer has led to a reanalysis of cellular and molecular events in the hope to identify and develop a cure for this multigenic disease. Autophagy, an evolutionary conserved catabolic process, eliminates protein aggregates and damaged organelles to maintain cellular homeostasis. Accumulating evidence has implicated the deregulation of autophagic pathways to be associated with various hallmarks of cancer. Autophagy exhibits both tumor-promoting and suppressive effects based on the tumor stage and grades. Majorly, it maintains the cancer microenvironment homeostasis by promoting viability and nutrient recycling under hypoxic and nutrient-deprived conditions. Recent investigations have discovered long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as master regulators of autophagic gene expression. lncRNAs, by sequestering autophagy-related microRNAs, have been known to modulate various hallmarks of cancer, such as survival, proliferation, EMT, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. This review delineates the mechanistic role of various lncRNAs involved in modulating autophagy and their related proteins in different cancers.

Long non-coding RNAs and exosomal lncRNAs: Potential functions in lung cancer progression, drug resistance and tumor microenvironment remodeling

Among the different kinds of tumors threatening human life, lung cancer is one that is commonly observed in both males and females. The aggressive behavior of lung cancer and interactions occurring in tumor microenvironment enhances the malignancy of this tumor. The lung tumor cells have demonstrated capacity in developing chemo- and radio-resistance. LncRNAs are a category of non-coding RNAs that do not encode proteins, but their aberrant expression is responsible for tumor development, especially lung cancer. In the present review, we focus on both lncRNAs and exosomal lncRNAs in lung cancer, and their ability in regulating proliferation and metastasis. Cell cycle progression and molecular mechanisms related to lung cancer metastasis such as EMT and MMPs are regulated by lncRNAs. LncRNAs interact with miRNAs, STAT, Wnt, EZH2, PTEN and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways to affect progression of lung cancer cells. LncRNAs demonstrate both tumor-suppressor and tumor-promoting functions in lung cancer. They can be considered as biomarkers in lung cancer and especially exosomal lncRNAs present in body fluids are potential tools for minimally invasive diagnosis. Furthermore, we discuss regulation of lncRNAs by anti-cancer drugs and genetic tools as well as the role of these factors in therapy response of lung cancer cells.