PCDH10 exerts tumor-suppressor functions through modulation of EGFR/AKT axis in colorectal cancer

Novel oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Carcinogenesis, progression, and therapeutic targets

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the primary malignancy affecting the liver and the leading cause of mortality among individuals with cirrhosis. This complex disease is associated with various risk factors, including environmental, pathological, and genetic influences, which dysregulate gene expression crucial for the cell cycle and cellular/molecular pathways. The disruption of the balance between tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes amplifies the pathogenic cascade. Given its predilection for diseased or cirrhotic livers and late-stage diagnosis, HCC prognosis is typically poor. Current therapies offer limited benefits, with conventional non-specific cytotoxic agents exhibiting suboptimal efficacy. However, molecularly targeted therapies have emerged as a promising avenue, leveraging the strategic inhibition of carcinogenic molecules to provide heightened specificity and potency compared to cytotoxic chemotherapy. Several clinical trials have demonstrated promising outcomes in advanced HCC with targeted pharmacotherapies. Many genes have been implicated in HCC pathogenesis, underscoring the need to elucidate their molecular functions and roles. This has profound implications for early HCC prognostication via biomarkers and for identifying therapeutic targets to impede neoplastic progression. Notably, evidence highlights the pivotal roles of oncogenes and tumor suppressors in HCC pathophysiology. This discourse examines the potential involvement of ABL1, Annexins, FAK, FOX, and KIF as candidate oncogenes, contrasted with SORBS2, HPCAL1, PCDH10, PLAC8, and CXXC5 as plausible tumor suppressors. Their signaling cascades and relevance to HCC prognosis and progression are delineated to identify targets for improving HCC diagnosis, prognostication, and therapy.

Comparative genomic landscape of lower-grade glioma and glioblastoma

Biomarkers for classifying and grading gliomas have been extensively explored, whereas populations in public databases were mostly Western/European. Based on public databases cannot accurately represent Chinese population. To identify molecular characteristics associated with clinical outcomes of lower-grade glioma (LGG) and glioblastoma (GBM) in the Chinese population, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in 16 LGG and 35 GBM tumor tissues. TP53 (36/51), TERT (31/51), ATRX (16/51), EFGLAM (14/51), and IDH1 (13/51) were the most common genes harboring mutations. IDH1 mutation (c.G395A; p.R132H) was significantly enriched in LGG, whereas PCDHGA10 mutation (c.A265G; p.I89V) in GBM. IDH1-wildtype and PCDHGA10 mutation were significantly related to poor prognosis. IDH1 is an important biomarker in gliomas, whereas PCDHGA10 mutation has not been reported to correlate with gliomas. Different copy number variations (CNVs) and oncogenic signaling pathways were identified between LGG and GBM. Differential genomic landscapes between LGG and GBM were revealed in the Chinese population, and PCDHGA10, for the first time, was identified as the prognostic factor of gliomas. Our results might provide a basis for molecular classification and identification of diagnostic biomarkers and even potential therapeutic targets for gliomas.

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination in cancer: from mechanisms to novel therapeutic approaches

Ubiquitination, a pivotal posttranslational modification of proteins, plays a fundamental role in regulating protein stability. The dysregulation of ubiquitinating and deubiquitinating enzymes is a common feature in various cancers, underscoring the imperative to investigate ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases (DUBs) for insights into oncogenic processes and the development of therapeutic interventions. In this review, we discuss the contributions of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) in all hallmarks of cancer and progress in drug discovery. We delve into the multiple functions of the UPS in oncology, including its regulation of multiple cancer-associated pathways, its role in metabolic reprogramming, its engagement with tumor immune responses, its function in phenotypic plasticity and polymorphic microbiomes, and other essential cellular functions. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive overview of novel anticancer strategies that leverage the UPS, including the development and application of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) and molecular glues.

The role of Pcdh10 in neurological disease and cancer

BACKGROUND

Protocadherin 10 (PCDH 10), a member of the superfamily of protocadherins, is a Ca2+-dependent homophilic cell-cell adhesion molecule expressed on the surface of cell membranes. Protocadherin 10 plays a critical role in the central nervous system including in cell adhesion, formation and maintenance of neural circuits and synapses, regulation of actin assembly, cognitive function and tumor suppression. Additionally, Pcdh10 can serve as a non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic indicator for various cancers.

METHODS

This paper collects and reviews relevant literature in Pubmed.

CONCLUSION

This review describes the latest research understanding the role of Pcdh10 in neurological disease and human cancer, highlighting the importance of scrutinizing its properties for the development of targeted therapies and identifying a need for further research to explore Pcdh10 functions in other pathways, cell types and human pathologies.

E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF180 prevents excessive PCDH10 methylation to suppress the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer cells by promoting ubiquitination of DNMT1

BACKGROUND

Downregulation of certain tumor-suppressor genes (TSGs) by aberrant methylation of CpG islands in the promoter region contributes a great deal to the oncogenesis and progression of several cancers, including gastric cancer (GC). Protocadherin 10 (PCDH10) is a newly identified TSG in various cancers and is downregulated in GC; however, the specific mechanisms of PCDH10 in GC remain elusive. Here, we elucidated a novel epigenetic regulatory signaling pathway involving the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF180 and DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), responsible for modulating PCDH10 expression by affecting its promoter methylation.

RESULTS

We revealed that PCDH10 was downregulated in GC cells and tissues, and low PCDH10 expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with GC. Additionally, PCDH10 overexpression suppressed GC cell proliferation and metastasis. Mechanistically, DNMT1-mediated promoter hypermethylation resulted in decreased expression of PCDH10 in GC tissues and cells. Further analysis revealed that RNF180 can bind directly to DNMT1 and was involved in DNMT1 degradation via ubiquitination. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between RNF180 and PCDH10 expression and an inverse association between DNMT1 and PCDH10 expression showed considerable prognostic significance.

CONCLUSION

Our data showed that RNF180 overexpression upregulated PCDH10 expression via ubiquitin-dependent degradation of DNMT1, thus suppressing GC cell proliferation, indicating that the RNF180/DNMT1/PCDH10 axis could be a potential therapeutic target for GC treatment.

MYH10 Combines with MYH9 to Recruit USP45 by Deubiquitinating Snail and Promotes Serous Ovarian Cancer Carcinogenesis, Progression, and Cisplatin Resistance

The poor prognosis of serous ovarian cancer (SOC) is due to its high invasive capacity and cisplatin resistance of SOC cells, whereas the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In the present study, the expression and function of non-muscle myosin heavy chain IIB (MYH10) in SOC are identified by immunohistochemistry, in vitro, and in vivo studies, respectively. The mechanism of MYH10 is demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation, GST pull-down, confocal laser assays, and so on. The results show that the knockdown of MYH10 suppressed SOC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, and cisplatin resistance both in vivo and in vitro. Further studies confirm that the MYH10 protein functional domain combines with non-muscle myosin heavy chain IIA (MYH9) to recruit the deubiquitinating enzyme Ubiquitin-specific proteases 45 and deubiquitinates snail to inhibit snail degradation, eventually promoting tumorigenesis, progression, and cisplatin resistance in SOC. In clinical samples, MYH10 expression is significantly elevated in SOC samples compared to the paratumor samples. And the expression of MYH10 is positively correlated with MYH9 expression. MYH10+/MYH9+ co-expression is an independent prognostic factor for predicting SOC patient survival. These findings uncover a key role of the MYH10-MYH9-snail axis in SOC carcinogenesis, progression, and cisplatin resistance, and provide potential novel therapeutic targets for SOC intervention.

Circular RNAs as the pivotal regulators of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastrointestinal tumor cells

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, as the most common human malignancies are always considered one of the most important health challenges in the world. Late diagnosis in advanced tumor stages is one of the main reasons for the high mortality rate and treatment failure in these patients. Therefore, investigating the molecular pathways involved in GI tumor progression is required to introduce the efficient markers for the early tumor diagnosis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the main cellular mechanisms involved in the GI tumor metastasis. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are one of the main regulatory factors in EMT process. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a group of covalently closed loop ncRNAs that have higher stability in body fluids compared with other ncRNAs. Considering the importance of circRNAs in regulation of EMT process, in the present review we discussed the role of circRNAs in EMT process during GI tumor invasion. It has been reported that circRNAs mainly affect the EMT process through the regulation of EMT-specific transcription factors and signaling pathways such as WNT, PI3K/AKT, TGF-β, and MAPK. This review can be an effective step in introducing a circRNA/EMT based diagnostic panel marker for the early tumor detection among GI cancer patients.

Molecular mechanism study and tumor heterogeneity of Chinese angelica and Fructus aurantii in the treatment of colorectal cancer through computational and molecular dynamics

OBJECTIVE

Screening Chinese angelica (CHA) and Fructus aurantii (FRA) for ingredients with therapeutic effects on colorectal cancer (CRC) and discovering novel targets for the prevention or treatment of CRC.

METHODS

TCMSP database as a starting point for the initial selection of ingredients and targets, we screened and validated the ingredients and targets of CHA and FRA using tools such as Autodock Vina, R 4.2.0, and GROMACS. To obtain the pharmacokinetic information of the active ingredients, we performed ADMET prediction and consulted a large number of works related to CRC cell lines for the discussion and validation of the results.

RESULTS

Molecular dynamics simulation results showed the complexes formed between these components and targets can exist in a very stable tertiary structure under the human environment, and their side effects can be ignored.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study successfully explains the effective mechanism of CHA and FRA for improving CRC while predicting the potential targets PPARG, AKT1, RXRA, and PPARA of CHA and FRA for CRC treatment, which provides a new foundation for investigating the novel compounds of TCMs and a new direction for subsequent CRC research.

Conditioned media from human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes inhibit the growth and migration of lung cancer cells

Conditioned media (CM) from various cell types contain significant levels of paracrine factors. Recently, therapeutic properties of CM derived from stem cells have been revealed. Based on the fact that heart cancer is extremely rarely, we hypothesized that the CM obtained from human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes might inhibit cancer cell growth and survival. To this end, lung cancer cell line A549 along with human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) were treated with serial concentrations of cardiomyocyte CM (CCM) or fibroblast CM (FCM). We found that CCM markedly reduced the viability of lung cancer cells, while FCM did not compromise the viability of neither cancer cells nor HFF cells. Furthermore, we determined an optimized CCM concentration, 30 mg/mL, at which the growth, clonogenicity, and migration of A549 and Calu6 lung cancer cell lines were substantially impaired, whereas FCM did not influence these properties. Moreover, lung cancer cells exhibited cell cycle regulation upon treatment with CCM and the rate of apoptosis was markedly increased by cardiomyocyte CM in both lung cancer cell lines tested. Finally, in response to CCM treatment, A549 and Calu6 cells expressed lower levels of antiapoptotic and stemness genes, but higher levels of proapoptotic genes. In conclusion, this study provides cellular and molecular evidence for the antitumor ability of secretome obtained from stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Functional roles of long noncoding RNA MALAT1 in gynecologic cancers

Gynecologic cancers are reproductive disorders characterized by pelvic pain and infertility. The identification of new predictive markers and therapeutic targets for the treatment of gynecologic cancers is urgently necessary. One of the recent successes in gynecologic cancers research is identifying the role of signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of the disease. Recent experiments showed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) can be novel therapeutic approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic cancers. LncRNA are transcribed RNA molecules that play pivotal roles in multiple biological processes by regulating the different steps of gene expression. Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1) is a well-known lncRNA that plays functional roles in gene expression, RNA processing, and epigenetic regulation. High expression of MALAT1 is closely related to numerous human diseases. It is generally believed that MALAT1 expression is associated with cancer cell growth, autophagy, invasion, and metastasis. MALAT1 by targeting multiple signaling pathways and microRNAs (miRNAs) could contribute to the pathogenesis of gynecologic cancers. In this review, we will summarize functional roles of MALAT1 in the most common gynecologic cancers, including endometrium, breast, ovary, and cervix.

Study on the Action Mechanism of the Yifei Jianpi Tongfu Formula in Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Lung Metastasis Based on Network Analysis, Molecular Docking, and Experimental Validation

Objective

The lung is the second most common site of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effects and potential action mechanisms of Yifei Jianpi Tongfu formula (YJTF) in CRC lung metastasis in a comprehensive and systematic way by network analysis, molecular docking, and experimental verification.

Methods

The main ingredients in YJTF were screened from the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database (TCMID), and the disease-related targets from the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and GeneCards and the compound-related targets from SwissTargetPrediction were collected. Then, Metascape was used for pathway annotation and enrichment analysis, and meanwhile, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Molecular docking was carried out to investigate interactions between the active compounds and the potential targets. The in vivo effect of YJTF on CRC lung metastasis was observed in a tail vein injection mouse model.

Results

A total of 243 active compounds and 81 disease-related targets of YJTF were selected for analysis. The results of multiple network analysis showed that the core targets of YJTF were enriched onto various cancer-related pathways, especially focal adhesion and adherens junction. The results of molecular docking demonstrated that all core compounds (quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, apigenin, and isorhamnetin) were capable of binding with AKT1, EGFR, SRC, ESR1, and PTGS2. Experimental validation in vivo demonstrated that YJTF combined with oxaliplatin could significantly reduce the number of lung metastases and improve the quality of life in mice. Further research suggested that YJTF inhibited CRC lung metastasis probably by modulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Conclusions

According to the analysis, YJTF can be considered as an effective adjuvant therapy for CRC lung metastasis.

Innovative mouse models for the tumor suppressor activity of Protocadherin-10 isoforms

Background

Nonclustered mouse protocadherin genes (Pcdh) encode proteins with a typical single ectodomain and a cytoplasmic domain with conserved motifs completely different from those of classic cadherins. Alternative splice isoforms differ in the size of these cytoplasmic domains. In view of the compelling evidence for gene silencing of protocadherins in human tumors, we started investigations on Pcdh functions in mouse cancer models.

Methods

For Pcdh10, we generated two mouse lines: one with floxed exon 1, leading to complete Pcdh10 ablation upon Cre action, and one with floxed exons 2 and 3, leading to ablation of only the long isoforms of Pcdh10. In a mouse medulloblastoma model, we used GFAP-Cre action to locally ablate Pcdh10 in combination with Trp53 and Rb1 ablation. From auricular tumors, that also arose, we obtained tumor-derived cell lines, which were analyzed for malignancy in vitro and in vivo. By lentiviral transduction, we re-expressed Pcdh10 cDNAs. RNA-Seq analyses were performed on these cell families.

Results

Surprisingly, not only medulloblastomas were generated in our model but also tumors of tagged auricles (pinnae). For both tumor types, ablation of either all or only long isoforms of Pcdh10 aggravated the disease. We argued that the perichondrial stem cell compartment is at the origin of the pinnal tumors. Immunohistochemical analysis of these tumors revealed different subtypes. We obtained several pinnal-tumor derived (PTD) cell lines and analyzed these for anchorage-independent growth, invasion into collagen matrices, tumorigenicity in athymic mice. Re-expression of either the short or a long isoform of Pcdh10 in two PTD lines counteracted malignancy in all assays. RNA-Seq analyses of these two PTD lines and their respective Pcdh10-rescued cell lines allowed to identify many interesting differentially expressed genes, which were largely different in the two cell families.

Conclusions

A new mouse model was generated allowing for the first time to examine the remarkable tumor suppression activity of protocadherin-10 in vivo. Despite lacking several conserved motifs, the short isoform of Pcdh10 was fully active as tumor suppressor. Our model contributes to scrutinizing the complex molecular mechanisms of tumor initiation and progression upon PCDH10 silencing in many human cancers.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09381-y.

The Mechanism of Downregulation of Twist1 Inhibiting Trophoblast Invasion and Aggravating the Development of Preeclampsia

To study the expression of under expressed transcription factor Twist1 in preeclampsia (PE) and its effect on the invasion of placental trophoblast cells and to explore its related mechanism on the development of PE by establishing a pregnant rat model. Methods: the villi were collected from the induced abortion in the first trimester (6–8 weeks), the normal placenta (18–20 weeks) induced by the second trimester, the term placenta tissue of normal pregnancy (37–40 weeks), and the placental tissue of patients with PE, to detect the expression of Twist1. Trophoblast cells were subjected to primary culture in placental tissues of normal pregnant women and placental tissues of PE patients. The invasion ability of the two groups of trophoblasts was detected, and the primary cultured trophoblasts were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. Specific Twist1 siRNA was added to the experimental group, and no reagents were added to the control group. The above-mentioned cells were given different interventions. To explore the effect of Twist1 on trophoblast cell invasion, cells were cultivated for 72 h. The SD rats were conceived. After the pregnancy was stable, the SD rats in different groups were treated with different treatments (interference with Twist1), and the average systolic blood pressure and urine protein of the gestational mothers in the different treatment groups were measured at 1 week, 2 weeks, and full-term pregnancy. The expression of Twist1 in the placenta tissue of SD rats with different interventions at full-term pregnancy was detected. The results showed that Twist1 expression is down-regulated in PE, and the invasion ability of placental trophoblast cells in PE patients is weak. After inhibiting Twist1, the mean tail artery pressure and urine protein level of SD pregnant rats increase, showing a trend of PE. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the placenta by Twist1 Trophoblast cell invasion.

Chemically synthesized cinobufagin suppresses nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis by inducing ENKUR to stabilize p53 expression

Clinically, the metastasis of tumor cells is the key factor of death in patients with cancer. In this study, we used a model of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) to explore the effects of a new chemical, cinobufagin (CB), combined with cisplatin (DDP). We observed that chemically synthesized CB strongly decreased the metastasis of NPC. Furthermore, a better therapeutic effect was shown when CB was combined with DDP. Molecular analysis revealed that CB induced ENKUR expression by deregulating the PI3K/AKT pathway and suppressing c-Jun, an oncogenic transcriptional factor that binds to the ENKUR promoter and negatively modulated its expression in NPC. ENKUR as a tumor suppressor binds to MYH9 and decreases its expression by recruiting β-catenin via its enkurin domain to prevent its nuclear accumulation, which therefore suppresses c-Jun-induced MYH9 expression. Subsequently, downregulated MYH9 reduces the enlistment of E3 ligase UBE3A and thus decreases the UBE3A-mediated ubiquitination degradation of p53, a key tumor suppressor that decreases epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Clinical sample analysis demonstrated that the ENKUR expression level was significantly reduced in NPC tissues. Its decreased expression substantially promoted clinical progression and reflected poor prognosis for patients with NPC. This study demonstrated that CB induced ENKUR to repress the β-catenin/c-Jun/MYH9 signal and thus decreased UBE3A-mediated p53 ubiquitination degradation. As a result, the EMT signal was inactivated to suppress NPC metastasis.

Fanconi Anemia Pathway Genes Advance Cervical Cancer via Immune Regulation and Cell Adhesion

Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is a typical and multienzyme-regulated DNA damage repairer that influences the occurrence and development of disease including cancers. Few comprehensive analyses were reported about the role of FA-related genes (FARGs) and their prognostic values in cancers. In this study, a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis on 79 FARGs was performed. According to the correlation analyses between HPV integration sites and FARGs, we found that FARGs played specific and critical roles in HPV-related cancers, especially in cervical cancer (CC). Based on this, a FARGs-associated prognostic risk score (FPS) model was constructed, and subsequently a nomogram model containing the FPS was developed with a good accuracy for CC overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) outcome prediction. We also used the similar expression pattern of FARGs by consensus clustering analysis to separate the patients into three subgroups that exhibited significant differential OS but not RFS. Moreover, differential expressed genes (DEGs) between the two risk groups or three clusters were identified and immune pathways as well as cell adhesion processes were determined by functional enrichment analysis. Results indicated that FARGs might promote occurrence and development of CC by regulating the immune cells' infiltration and cell adhesion. In addition, through the machine learning models containing decision tree, random forest, naïve bayes, and support vector machine models, screening of important variables on CC prognosis, we finally determined that ZBTB32 and CENPS were the main elements affecting CC OS, while PALB2 and BRCA2 were for RFS. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that bivariate prediction of CC outcome was reliable. Our study systematically analyzed the prognostic prediction values of FARGs and demonstrated their potential mechanism in CC aggressiveness. Results provided perspective in FA pathway-associated modification and theoretical basis for CC clinical treatments.

Circular RNA CNOT2 knockdown regulates twist family BHLH transcription factor via targeting microRNA 409-3p to prevent breast cancer invasion, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Numerous studies have manifested that cicular RNA (circRNA) is closely associated with the development of breast cancer (BC), but the specific mechanism has not been fully clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of circCNOT2 on BC invasion, migration and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its potential molecular mechanism. The results assured that circCNOT2 and Twist Family BHLH Transcription Factor (TWIST1) were elevated in BC, while microrNA (miR)-409-3p was reduced. CircCNOT2 was positively correlated with TWIST1 and negatively correlated with miR-409-3p. Elevated circCNOT2 is associated with poor prognosis of BC. Knockdown circCNOT2 or augmented miR-409-3p could promote apoptosis but repress proliferation, invasion, migration and EMT of BC cells. In addition, overexpression of circCNOT2 or TWIST1 accelerated BC invasion, migration and EMT, which could be reversed by simultaneous transfection of miR-409-3p-mimic. Further dual luciferase reporting and RNA-pull down assay clarified that circCNOT2 acted as a competing endogenous RNA of miR-409-3p to mediate TWIST1 expression. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that circCNOT2 affects the biological behavior of BC via regulating the miR-409-3p/TWIST1 axis, and may be applied as a potential therapeutic target for BC later.

Hsa_circ_0001666 suppresses the progression of colorectal cancer through the miR-576-5p/PCDH10 axis

BACKGROUND

Though circular RNAs, new non-coding RNA classes have demonstrated that they have an essential role in the initiation as well as development of CRC (colorectal cancer), whereas in CRC the function and mechanism of hsa_circ_0001666 are less known.

METHODS

Hsa_circ_0001666 was identified by bioinformatics analysis of a circRNA microarray from the GEO database, and its expression in both CRC cell lines and tissues was analysed. A series of in vitro along with in vivo experiments were carried out for exploring the hsa_circ_0001666 functions, including transwell, wound healing, flow cytometry, colony formation, Edu, CCK-8, soft agar colony formation, tumor xenografts and lung/liver metastasis in mice. RNA pull-down, RIP (RNA immunoprecipitation), luciferase reporter assay, FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) and rescue experiments were used for determining the correlation among hsa_circ_0001666, miR-576-5p and PCDH10.

RESULTS

Hsa_circ_0001666 was downregulated in both CRC cell lines along with tumour tissues. A higher expression level of hsa_circ_0001666 indicated a better clinical prognosis in patients with CRC. Hsa_circ_0001666 knockdown significantly supported CRC cell proliferation along with invasion and inhibited cell apoptosis in vitro. Hsa_circ_0001666 knockdown accelerated the CRC growth and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, the mechanistic study showed that hsa_circ_0001666, acting as 'ceRNA' of miR-576-5p, prevented PCDH10 downregulation, as well as suppressed EMT and stemness of CRC cells, and the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway. Inhibiting miR-576-5p or overexpressing PCDH10 could reverse phenotypic changes caused by knocking down of hsa_circ_0001666.

CONCLUSIONS

Hsa_circ_0001666 suppresses CRC progression through the miR-576-5p/PCDH10 axis and may provide a new insight for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC.

LPCAT1 Promotes Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma via EGFR-Mediated Protein Kinase B/p38MAPK Signaling Pathways

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. LPCAT1, a lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase, takes a center stage in membrane lipid remodeling. LPCAT1 is elevated in several cancers and contributes to cancer development. However, its role and molecular mechanisms in cSCC remain to be elucidated. In this study, we found that LPCAT1 was upregulated in cSCC tissues and in cell lines. In vitro, loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments demonstrated that LPCAT1 facilitated cSCC cell proliferation, protected cells against apoptosis, accelerated epithelial‒mesenchymal transition, and enhanced cell metastasis. Mechanistically, LPCAT1 regulated EGFR signaling. The oncogenic effect of LPCAT1 was mediated by EGFR/protein kinase B and EGFR/p38MAPK pathways in cSCC. Using the xenograft mouse model, we consolidated the results mentioned earlier. In conclusion, LPCAT1 contributed to cSCC progression through EGFR-mediated protein kinase B and p38MAPK signaling pathways. LPCAT1 may serve as a target for therapeutic intervention in cSCC.