MicroRNA-301b promotes the proliferation and invasion of glioma cells through enhancing activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling via targeting Glypican-5

FOSL2-mediated transcription of ISG20 induces M2 polarization of macrophages and enhances tumorigenic ability of glioblastoma cells

BACKGROUND

Interferon stimulated exonuclease gene 20 (ISG20) has been reported to be correlated with macrophage infiltration in glioblastoma (GBM) in previous bioinformatics-based studies. This study explores the exact effect of ISG20 on macrophage polarization in GBM.

METHODS

ISG20 expression in GBM tissues and cells was determined by RT-qPCR and/or immunohistochemistry. GBM cells were co-cultured with M0 macrophages (PMA-stimulated THP-1 cells) in vitro, followed by flow cytometry and ELISA to analyze the M2 polarization of macrophages. Fluorescence-contained GBM cells were intracranially injected into nude mice along with M0 macrophages to generate orthotopic xenograft tumor models. Upstream regulator of ISG20 was predicted using bioinformatics. Loss- or gain-of-function assays of Fos like 2 (FOSL2) and ISG20 were performed in GBM cells. DNA methylation level of FOSL2 was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing analysis.

RESULTS

ISG20 was found highly expressed in GBM tissues and cells. ISG20 silencing in GBM cells decreased CD206 and CD163 levels in the co-cultured macrophages and reduced secretion of IL-10 and TGF-β. It also enhanced survival of nude mice bearing xenograft tumors, blocked tumor growth, and suppressed M2 polarization of macrophages in vivo. FOSL2, highly expressed in GBM, bound to the ISG20 promoter to activate its transcription. FOSL2 silencing similarly blocked M2 polarization of macrophages, which was negated by ISG20 overexpression. The high FOSL2 expression in GBM was attributed to DNA hypomethylation.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that FOSL2 is highly expressed in GBM due to DNA hypomethylation. It activates transcription of ISG20, thus promoting M2 polarization of macrophages and GBM development.

Dichotomous Effects of Glypican-4 on Cancer Progression and Its Crosstalk with Oncogenes

Glypicans are linked to various aspects of neoplastic behavior, and their therapeutic value has been proposed in different cancers. Here, we have systematically assessed the impact of GPC4 on cancer progression through functional genomics and transcriptomic analyses across a broad range of cancers. Survival analysis using TCGA cancer patient data reveals divergent effects of GPC4 expression across various cancer types, revealing elevated GPC4 expression levels to be associated with both poor and favorable prognoses in a cancer-dependent manner. Detailed investigation of the role of GPC4 in glioblastoma and non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma by genetic perturbation studies displays opposing effects on these cancers, where the knockout of GPC4 with CRISPR/Cas9 attenuated proliferation of glioblastoma and augmented proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cells and the overexpression of GPC4 exhibited a significant and opposite effect. Further, the overexpression of GPC4 in GPC4-knocked-down glioblastoma cells restored the proliferation, indicating its mitogenic effect in this cancer type. Additionally, a survival analysis of TCGA patient data substantiated these findings, revealing an association between elevated levels of GPC4 and a poor prognosis in glioblastoma, while indicating a favorable outcome in lung carcinoma patients. Finally, through transcriptomic analysis, we attempted to assign mechanisms of action to GPC4, as we find it implicated in cell cycle control and survival core pathways. The analysis revealed upregulation of oncogenes, including FGF5, TGF-β superfamily members, and ITGA-5 in glioblastoma, which were downregulated in lung adenocarcinoma patients. Our findings illuminate the pleiotropic effect of GPC4 in cancer, underscoring its potential as a putative prognostic biomarker and indicating its therapeutic implications in a cancer type dependent manner.

Reactivation of Multiple Fetal miRNAs in Lung Adenocarcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play vital roles in the regulation of normal developmental pathways. However, cancer cells can co-opt these miRNAs, and the pathways that they regulate, to drive pro-tumourigenic phenotypes. Characterization of the miRNA transcriptomes of fetal organs is essential for identifying these oncofetal miRNAs, but it has been limited by fetal sample availability. As oncofetal miRNAs are absent from healthy adult lungs, they represent ideal targets for developing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. We conducted small RNA sequencing of a rare collection of 25 human fetal lung (FL) samples and compared them to two independent cohorts (n = 140, n = 427), each comprised of adult non-neoplastic lung (ANL) and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) samples. We identified 13 oncofetal miRNAs that were expressed in FL and LUAD but not in ANL. These oncofetal miRNAs are potential biomarkers for LUAD detection (AUC = 0.963). Five of these miRNAs are derived from the imprinted C14MC miRNA cluster at the 14q32 locus, which has been associated with cancer development and abnormal fetal and placental development. Additionally, we observed the pulmonary expression of 44 previously unannotated miRNAs. The sequencing of these fetal lung samples also provides a baseline resource against which aberrant samples can be compared.

Distinct diagnostic and prognostic values of Glypicans gene expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Backgroud

In our current work, we aimed to investigate the expressions of glypican (GPC) family genes at the mRNA level and assess their prognostic significances in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

The pathological roles of GPC family genes were examined using bioinformatics analysis. The diagnostic values of GPC genes were explored with the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis. Moreover, the mRNA expression and prognostic values of GPC genes were assessed via the KM plotter database.

Results

Our data showed that the expression of GPC-3 was dramatically increased in the liver tumor tissue. Moreover, the expressions of the other five GPC family members were not significantly different between the tumor and normal liver tissues (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the up-regulation of GPC-1 at the mRNA level was dramatically correlated to the reduced overall survival (OS) for all HCC patients (hazard ratio = 2.03, 95% confidence intervals =1.44–2.87, P = 4.1e-05) compared with its low-expression group. Besides, the prognosis of the Caucasians was related to most GPC family genes, while the prognosis of the Asian race was only related to the expression of GPC-2. Besides, for pathological factors, including stage, grade, AJCC, and vascular invasion, the higher the pathological grade and vascular invasiveness, the lower the expression levels of GPC family genes (P < 0.05). Finally, the expression levels of GPC-1, 2, and 3 in the hepatitis group were related to the poor prognosis of HCC in the risk factor (alcohol consumption and hepatitis) subgroup (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our findings indicated that GPC-3 was dysregulated in HCC compared with paracancerous tissues. The expression of GPC-1 could be used as a potent predictive index for the general prognosis of HCC. The pathology, patients, and risk factors might affect the prognostic value of GPC family genes in HCC.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08104-z.

MicroRNA-522-3p plays an oncogenic role in glioblastoma through activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via targeting SFRP2

BACKGROUND

Increasing studies have suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the occurrence and development of glioblastoma. MiR-522-3p is a novel miRNA, which has been found to modulate tumorigenesis and tumor progression. However, its pathological role and functional mechanism in glioblastoma remain elusive at present.

METHOD

The miR-522-3p expression in glioblastoma and adjacent normal tissues, human fetal astrocyte HA1800, and glioblastoma cell lines was detected by reverse transcription-PCR. The proliferation, migration, and invasion were detected through Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) and Transwell assay, and apoptosis was calculated through flow cytometry. The downstream target of miR-522-3p was analyzed through bioinformatics, and the correlation between miR-522-3p and secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (SFRP2) was verified through dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiment. Besides, western blot was conducted to test the level of SFRP2 and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

RESULTS

MiR-522-3p was overexpressed in glioblastoma tissues compared with that in normal tissues, and the inhibition of miR-522-3p reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and promoted apoptosis in glioblastoma. Bioinformatics revealed that SFRP2 was an essential downstream target of miR-522-3p, and it inhibited the malignant biological behaviors induced by miR-522-3p and inactivated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

CONCLUSION

MiR-522-3p is an oncogene in glioblastoma by targeting SFRP2 through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

The Role of Glypicans in Cancer Progression and Therapy

Glypicans are a family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans that are attached to the cell membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Glypicans interact with multiple ligands, including morphogens, growth factors, chemokines, ligands, receptors, and components of the extracellular matrix through their heparan sulfate chains and core protein. Therefore, glypicans can function as coreceptors to regulate cell proliferation, cell motility, and morphogenesis. In addition, some glypicans are abnormally expressed in cancers, possibly involved in tumorigenesis, and have the potential to be cancer-specific biomarkers. Here, we provide a brief review focusing on the expression of glypicans in various cancers and their potential to be targets for cancer therapy.

Role of glypicans in regulation of the tumor microenvironment and cancer progression

Glypicans are evolutionary conserved, cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans that are attached to the cell membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Glypicans interact with a broad class of soluble and insoluble ligands, such as morphogens, growth factors, chemokines, receptors and components of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Such versatility comes from their ability to interact through both their HS chains and core protein. Glypicans are involved in cellular and tissue development, morphogenesis and cell motility. They exhibit differential expression in several cancers, acting as both tumor promoters and inhibitors in a cancer type-specific manner. They also influence tumor stroma by facilitating angiogenesis, ECM remodeling and alteration of immune cell functions. Glypicans have emerged as a new therapeutic moiety, whose functions can be exploited in the field of targeted therapies and precision medicine in cancer. This is demonstrated by the emergence of several anti-glypican antibody-based immunologics that have been recently developed and are being evaluated in clinical trials. This review will focus on glypican structure and function with an emphasis on their expression in various cancers. Discussion will also center on the potential of glypicans to be therapeutic targets for inhibition of cancer cell growth.