LncRNA HOTAIR promotes the proliferation and invasion/metastasis of breast cancer cells by targeting the miR-130a-3p/Suv39H1 axis

Role of rs2366152 single-nucleotide variant located in the long noncoding RNA HOTAIR gene in the cervical cancer susceptibility in a Polish population

Previous studies have demonstrated an association of the NC_000012.12:g.53962605A > G, (rs2366152) single-nucleotide variant (SNV) situated in the long noncoding homeobox transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) gene with HPV16-related cervical cancer pathogenesis. However, little is known about the role of rs2366152 in cervical cancer progression and how oral birth control pills use, parity, menopausal status, and cigarette smoking influence the role of rs2366152 in cervical carcinogenesis. HRM analysis was used to determine the rs2366152 SNV prevalence in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (n = 470) and control group (n = 499) in a Polish Caucasian population. Logistic regression analyses were adjusted for age, using birth control pills, parity, menopausal status, and cigarette smoking. Our genetic studies revealed that the G/A vs. A/A (p = 0.031, p = 0.002) and G/A + G/G vs. A/A (p = 0.035, p = 0.003) genotypes of rs2366152 SNV were significantly related to the grade of differentiation G3 and tumor stage III, respectively. Moreover, cervical cancer risk increased among patients with rs2366152 SNV who smoked cigarettes and used birth control pills. We conclude that rs2366152 may promote the invasion and rapid growth of cervical SCC. Moreover, rs2366152 with cigarette smoking and using birth control pills can also be a risk factor for cervical cancerogenesis.

Circulating ESR1, long non-coding RNA HOTAIR and microRNA-130a gene expression as biomarkers for breast cancer stage and metastasis

Breast cancer, the most prevalent cancer among women, has posed a significant challenge in identifying biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis. This study aimed to elucidate the gene expression profile of Estrogen Receptor-1 (ESR-1), long non-coding RNA HOTAIR, and microRNA-130a in the serum of Egyptian breast cancer patients, evaluating the potential of HOTAIR and miR-130a as biomarkers for predicting pathological parameters in BC. The study involved 45 patients with primary BC, with serum samples collected preoperatively and postoperatively twice. The expression levels of ESR-1, HOTAIR, and miR-130a were quantified using real-time PCR and analyzed for correlations with each other and with the clinical and pathological parameters of the patients. Serum HOTAIR levels exhibited a strong positive association with metastasis and demonstrated a significant increase after 6 months in all patients with locally advanced and stage IV BC. Conversely, tumors with advanced stages and metastatic lesions showed significantly lower expression levels of miR-130a. Notably, a significant positive correlation was observed between preoperative ESR-1 expression and both HOTAIR and miR-130a levels. Serum HOTAIR and miR-130a levels have emerged as promising non-invasive biomarkers with the potential to predict the pathological features of BC patients. HOTAIR, an oncogenic long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), and miR-130a, a tumor suppressor miRNA, play crucial roles in tumor progression. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the intricate interplay between HOTAIR and miR-130a and to fully comprehend the contribution of HOTAIR to BC recurrence and its potential utility in early relapse prediction.

HOTAIR in colorectal cancer: structure, function, and therapeutic potential

lncRNAs play a vital part in cancer development by regulating gene expression. Among these, the lncRNA HOTAIR has gained considerable attention due to its entanglement in multiple cellular processes, including chromatin remodeling and gene regulation. HOTAIR has a complex structure consisting of multiple domains that interact with various protein complexes and RNA molecules. In colorectal cancer (CRC), HOTAIR expression is upregulated, and its overexpression has been correlated with poor patient prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy. HOTAIR has been found to regulate gene expression and promote cancer growth by interacting with specific miRNAs. In addition, HOTAIR has been implicated in the development of treatment resistance in colorectal cancer. To develop effective treatments, it's important to understand how HOTAIR regulates gene expression. This article discusses HOTAIR's structure, functions, and mechanisms in CRC and its potential as a target for therapy. The author also suggests future research directions to better understand HOTAIR's role in CRC progression and drug resistance.

Long non-coding RNA-targeting therapeutics: discovery and development update

INTRODUCTION

lncRNAs are major players in regulatory networks orchestrating multiple cellular functions, such as 3D chromosomal interactions, epigenetic modifications, gene expression and others. Due to progress in the development of nucleic acid-based therapeutics, lncRNAs potentially represent easily accessible therapeutic targets.

AREAS COVERED

Currently, significant efforts are directed at studies that can tap the enormous therapeutic potential of lncRNAs. This review describes recent developments in this field, particularly focusing on clinical applications.

EXPERT OPINION

Extensive druggable target range of lncRNA combined with high specificity and accelerated development process of nucleic acid-based therapeutics open new prospects for treatment in areas of extreme unmet medical need, such as genetic diseases, aggressive cancers, protein deficiencies, and subsets of common diseases caused by known mutations. Although currently wide acceptance of lncRNA-targeting nucleic acid-based therapeutics is impeded by the need for parenteral or direct-to-CNS administration, development of less invasive techniques and orally available/BBB-penetrant nucleic acid-based therapeutics is showing early successes. Recently, mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated clinical safety of all aspects of nucleic acid-based therapeutic technology, including multiple chemical modifications of nucleic acids and nanoparticle delivery. These trends position lncRNA-targeting drugs as significant players in the future of drug development, especially in the area of personalized medicine.

The lncRNA HOTAIR: a pleiotropic regulator of epithelial cell plasticity

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a trans-differentiation process that endows epithelial cells with mesenchymal properties, including motility and invasion capacity; therefore, its aberrant reactivation in cancerous cells represents a critical step to gain a metastatic phenotype. The EMT is a dynamic program of cell plasticity; many partial EMT states can be, indeed, encountered and the full inverse mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) appears fundamental to colonize distant secondary sites. The EMT/MET dynamics is granted by a fine modulation of gene expression in response to intrinsic and extrinsic signals. In this complex scenario, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) emerged as critical players. This review specifically focuses on the lncRNA HOTAIR, as a master regulator of epithelial cell plasticity and EMT in tumors. Molecular mechanisms controlling its expression in differentiated as well as trans-differentiated epithelial cells are highlighted here. Moreover, current knowledge about HOTAIR pleiotropic functions in regulation of both gene expression and protein activities are described. Furthermore, the relevance of the specific HOTAIR targeting and the current challenges of exploiting this lncRNA for therapeutic approaches to counteract the EMT are discussed.

BCLncRDB: a comprehensive database of LncRNAs associated with breast cancer

Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women, is characterized by high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recent evidence has shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in the development and progression of breast cancer. However, despite increasing data and evidence indicating the implication of lncRNAs in breast cancer, no web resource or database exists primarily for lncRNAs associated with only breast cancer. Therefore, we developed a manually curated, comprehensive database, "BCLncRDB," for lncRNAs associated with breast cancer. For this, we collected, processed, and analyzed available data on breast cancer-associated lncRNAs from different sources, including previously published research articles, the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) Database of the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the Ensembl database; subsequently, these data were hosted at BCLncRDB for public access. Currently, the database contains 5324 unique breast cancer-lncRNA associations and has the following features: (i) a user-friendly, easy-to-use web interface for searching and browsing about lncRNAs of the user's interest, (ii) differentially expressed and methylated lncRNAs, (iii) stage- and subtype-specific lncRNAs, and (iv) drugs, subcellular localization, sequence, and chromosome information of these lncRNAs. Thus, the BCLncRDB provides a one-stop dedicated platform for exploring breast cancer-related lncRNAs to advance and support the ongoing research on this disease. The BCLncRDB is publicly available for use at http://sls.uohyd.ac.in/new/bclncrdb_v1 .

HOTAIR: a potential metastatic, drug-resistant and prognostic regulator of breast cancer

HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is an oncogenic non-coding RNA whose expression is strongly correlated with the tumor grade and prognosis of a variety of carcinomas including breast cancer (BC). HOTAIR regulates various target genes via sponging and epigenetic mechanisms and controls various oncogenic cellular and signaling mechanisms including metastasis and drug resistance. In BC cells, HOTAIR expression is regulated by a variety of transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. In this review, we describe the regulatory mechanisms that govern HOTAIR expression during cancer development and explore how HOTAIR drives BC development, metastasis, and drug resistance. In the final section of this review, we focus on the role of HOTAIR in BC management, therapeutic treatment, and prognosis, highlighting its potential therapeutic applications.

HMGA2 regulation by miRNAs in cancer: affecting cancer hallmarks and therapy response

High mobility group A 2 (HMGA2) is a protein that modulates the structure of chromatin in the nucleus. Importantly, aberrant expression of HMGA2 occurs during carcinogenesis, and this protein is an upstream mediator of cancer hallmarks including evasion of apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and therapy resistance. HMGA2 targets critical signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin and mTOR in cancer cells. Therefore, suppression of HMGA2 function notably decreases cancer progression and improves outcome in patients. As HMGA2 is mainly oncogenic, targeting expression by non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is crucial to take into consideration since it affects HMGA2 function. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) belong to ncRNAs and are master regulators of vital cell processes, which affect all aspects of cancer hallmarks. Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), other members of ncRNAs, are upstream mediators of miRNAs. The current review intends to discuss the importance of the miRNA/HMGA2 axis in modulation of various types of cancer, and mentions lncRNAs and circRNAs, which regulate this axis as upstream mediators. Finally, we discuss the effect of miRNAs and HMGA2 interactions on the response of cancer cells to therapy. Regarding the critical role of HMGA2 in regulation of critical signaling pathways in cancer cells, and considering the confirmed interaction between HMGA2 and one of the master regulators of cancer, miRNAs, targeting miRNA/HMGA2 axis in cancer therapy is promising and this could be the subject of future clinical trial experiments.

Revisiting the hallmarks of cancer: A new look at long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. The increasing understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying its heterogeneity favors a better understanding of tumor biology and consequently the development of better diagnostic and treatment techniques. The advent of tumor genome sequencing techniques has highlighted more participants in the process, in addition to protein-coding genes. Thus, it is now known that long noncoding RNAs, previously described as transcriptional noise with no biological function, are intimately associated with tumor development. In breast cancer, they are abnormally expressed and closely associated with tumor progression, which makes them attractive diagnostic biomarkers and prognostic and specific therapeutic targets. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer is essential for the search for new treatment strategies. In this review, we summarize the major long noncoding RNAs and their association with the cancer characteristics of the ability to sustain proliferative signaling, evasion of growth suppressors, replicative immortality, activation of invasion and metastasis, induction of angiogenesis, resistance to cell death, reprogramming of energy metabolism, genomic instability and sustained mutations, promotion of tumor inflammation, and evasion of the immune system. In addition, we report and suggest how they can be used as prognostic biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets.

A cutting-edge immunomodulatory interlinkage between HOTAIR and MALAT1 in tumor-associated macrophages in breast cancer: A personalized immunotherapeutic approach

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers, accounting for 2.3 million cases worldwide. BC can be molecularly subclassified into luminal A, luminal B HER2-, luminal B HER2+, HER2+, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). These molecular subtypes differ in their prognosis and treatment strategies; thus, understanding the tumor microenvironment (TME) of BC could lead to new potential treatment strategies. The TME hosts a population of cells that act as antitumorigenic such as tumor-associated eosinophils or pro-tumorigenic such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs), monocytic-derived populations such as MDSCs, or most importantly "tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs)," which are derived from CD14⁺ monocytes. TAMs are reported to have the pro-inflammatory phenotype M1, which is found only in the very early stages of tumor and is not correlated with progression; however, the M2 phenotype is anti-inflammatory that is correlated with tumor progression and metastasis. The current study focused on controlling the anti-inflammatory activity in TAMs of hormonal, HER2+, and TNBC by epigenetic fine-tuning of two immunomodulatory proteins, namely, CD80 and mesothelin (MSLN), which are known to be overexpressed in BC with pro-tumorigenic activity. Long non-coding RNAs are crucial key players in tumor progression whether acting as oncogenic or tumor suppressors. We focused on the regulatory role of MALAT1 and HOTAIR lncRNAs and their role in controlling the tumorigenic activity of TAMs. This study observed the impact of manipulation of MALAT1 and HOTAIR on the expression of both CD80 and MSLN in TAMs of BC. Moreover, we analyzed the interlinkage between HOTAIR and MALAT1 as regulators to one another in TAMs of BC. The current study reported an upstream regulatory effect of HOTAIR on MALAT1. Moreover, our results showed a promising use of MALAT1 and HOTAIR in regulating oncogenic immune-modulatory proteins MSLN and CD80 in TAMs of HER2+ and TNBC. The downregulation of MALAT1 and HOTAIR resulted in the upregulation of CD80 and MSLN, which indicates that they might have a cell-specific activity in TAMs. These data shed light on novel key players affecting the anti-inflammatory activity of TAMs as a possible therapeutic target in HER2+ and TNBC.

Using ncRNAs as Tools in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment-The Way towards Personalized Medicine to Improve Patients' Health

Although the first discovery of a non-coding RNA (ncRNA) dates back to 1958, only in recent years has the complexity of the transcriptome started to be elucidated. However, its components are still under investigation and their identification is one of the challenges that scientists are presently facing. In addition, their function is still far from being fully understood. The non-coding portion of the genome is indeed the largest, both quantitatively and qualitatively. A large fraction of these ncRNAs have a regulatory role either in coding mRNAs or in other ncRNAs, creating an intracellular network of crossed interactions (competing endogenous RNA networks, or ceRNET) that fine-tune the gene expression in both health and disease. The alteration of the equilibrium among such interactions can be enough to cause a transition from health to disease, but the opposite is equally true, leading to the possibility of intervening based on these mechanisms to cure human conditions. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on these mechanisms, illustrating how they can be used for disease treatment, the current challenges and pitfalls, and the roles of environmental and lifestyle-related contributing factors, in addition to the ethical, legal, and social issues arising from their (improper) use.