CDCA8 regulates meiotic spindle assembly and chromosome segregation during human oocyte meiosis

Transcription factor E2F4 facilitates SUMOylation to promote HCC progression through interaction with LIN9

SUMOylation plays a crucial role in numerous cellular biological and pathophysiological processes associated with human disease; however, the mechanisms regulating the genes involved in SUMOylation remain unclear. In the present study, E2F transcription factor 4 (E2F4) was identified as an E2F member related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression by public database analysis. It was found that E2F4 promoted the proliferation and invasiveness of HCC cells via SUMOylation using Soft agar and Transwell migration assays. Mechanistically, it was demonstrated that E2F4 upregulated the transcript and protein expression levels of baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5, cell division cycle associated 8 and DNA topoisomerase II α using western blotting. Furthermore, the interaction between E2F4 with lin‑9 DREAM multi‑vulva class B core complex component (LIN9) was explored by co‑immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence co‑localization and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. Moreover, it was demonstrated that E2F4 promoted the progression of HCC cells via LIN9. Rescue experiments revealed that LIN9 facilitated the SUMOylation and proliferation of HCC cells, which was prevented by knocking down E2F4 expression. In conclusion, the findings of the present study indicated that E2F4 plays a major role in the proliferation of HCC cells and may be a potential therapeutic target in the future.

A 1-kb human CDCA8 promoter directs the spermatogonia-specific luciferase expression in adult testis

Cell division cycle associated 8 (CDCA8) is a component of the chromosomal passenger complex and plays an essential role in mitosis, meiosis, cancer growth, and undifferentiated state of embryonic stem cells. However, its expression and role in adult tissues remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we studied the CDCA8 transcription in adult tissues by generating a transgenic mouse model, in which the luciferase was driven by a 1-kb human CDCA8 promoter. Our previous study showed that this 1-kb promoter was active enough to dictate reporter expression faithfully reflecting endogenous CDCA8 expression. Two founder mice carrying the transgene were identified. In vivo imaging and luciferase assays in tissue lysates revealed that CDCA8 promoter was highly activated and drove robust luciferase expression in testes. Subsequently, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent staining showed that in adult transgenic testes, the expression of luciferase was restricted to a subset of spermatogonia that were located along the basement membrane and positive for the expression of GFRA1, a consensus marker for early undifferentiated spermatogonia. These findings for the first time indicate that the CDCA8 was transcriptionally activated in testis and thus may play a role in adult spermatogenesis. Moreover, the 1-kb CDCA8 promoter could be used for spermatogonia-specific gene expression in vivo and the transgenic lines constructed here could also be used for recovery of spermatogonia from adult testes.

CDCA4 interacts with IGF2BP1 to regulate lung adenocarcinoma proliferation via the PI3K/AKT pathway

BACKGROUND

Lung adenocarcinomas (LUAD) remain the leading cause of death in many countries. In this study, we investigated the role of division cycle-associated 4 (CDCA4) in the carcinogenesis of LUADs.

METHODS

Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot were performed to detect the messenger RNA and protein levels of CDCA4 in cells. Cell counting kit 8, real-time cell analysis, clone formation, EdU assays, and cell-cycle assays were used to preliminarily investigate the proliferation and cell-cycle-related functions of CDCA4 in lung adenocarcinoma. Immunoprecipitation assays were used to identify possible targets of CDCA4. A xenograft model was used to examine how CDCA4 knockdown affects LUAD cells growth in vivo.

RESULTS

We found that the expression of CDCA4 was upregulated in LUAD cell lines. When CDCA4 was knocked out, the ability of LUAD cells to proliferate was dramatically reduced, and the cell cycle was stalled in the S phase. Meanwhile, boosting the CDCA4 expression had the opposite effect. The critical protein levels of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway were subsequently examined. The findings demonstrated that elevated CDCA4 lowered the phosphate and tensin homolog expression and increased the p-PI3K and p-AKT levels. Moreover, we demonstrated that CDCA4 favorably regulated IGF2BP1, a downstream target. The downregulation of the IGF2BP1 expression could reverse the proliferation promotion effect induced by the CDCA4 overexpression.

CONCLUSIONS

CDCA4 can operate as an oncogenic factor to control the growth of lung adenocarcinoma via the PI3K/AKT pathway.

MicroRNA-202 safeguards meiotic progression by preventing premature SEPARASE-mediated REC8 cleavage

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are believed to play important roles in mammalian spermatogenesis but the in vivo functions of single miRNAs in this highly complex developmental process remain unclear. Here, we report that miR-202, a member of the let-7 family, plays an important role in spermatogenesis by phenotypic evaluation of miR-202 knockout (KO) mice. Loss of miR-202 results in spermatocyte apoptosis and perturbation of the zygonema-to-pachynema transition. Multiple processes during meiosis prophase I including synapsis and crossover formation are disrupted, and inter-sister chromatid synapses are detected. Moreover, we demonstrate that Separase mRNA is a miR-202 direct target and provides evidence that miR-202 upregulates REC8 by repressing Separase expression. Therefore, we have identified miR-202 as a new regulating noncoding gene that acts on the established SEPARASE-REC8 axis in meiosis.

Tissue-Specific Analysis of Alternative Splicing Events and Differential Isoform Expression in Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea) After Cryptocaryon irritans Infection

The large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) is one of the most important mariculture fish in China. Recently, cryptocaryonosis caused by Cryptocryon irritans infection has brought huge economic losses and threatens the healthy and sustainable development of the L. crocea industry. However, the molecular mechanism and regulation process for L. crocea resistance to C. irritans infection has not been fully researched. Alternative splicing (AS) is an important post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism that allows cells to produce transcriptional and proteomic diversity. The results of AS are tissue dependent, and the expression of tissue-specific transcription subtype genes is determined by AS and transcriptional regulation. However, studies on the tissue specificity of AS events in L. crocea following infection with C. irritans have not been performed. In this study, the L. crocea were artificially infected with C. irritans; their skin and gill were collected at 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h post infection. After sequencing and differential expression analysis, a set of 452, 692, 934, 711, 534, and 297 differential alternative splicing (DAS) events were identified in 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h post infection respectively. Furthermore, 4160 differentially expressed isoforms (DEIs) and 4209 DEI genes were identified from all time point groups. GO enrichment and pathway analysis indicated that many genes of DAS and DEIs were rich in immune-related GO terms and KEGG pathways, such as the Toll and Imd signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway. Among hub DEI genes, alternative splicing-related genes (cwc25, prpf8, and sf3a3), skin function-related gene (fa2h), and oxygen deprivation-related gene (hyo1) were found in DEI genes. This study provided insight into the temporal change of DAS and DEIs between skin and gill of L. crocea against C. irritans infection and revealed that these differences might play immune-related roles in the infection process.

Expression profiles of cdca9 related to ovarian development in loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)

The function of borealin proteins has been widely reported in the cell division of animals. Nonetheless, there is little research about their only known paralogue (cell division cycle associated 9, cdca9). In this study, cdca9 was investigated in loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) for the first time. cdca9 was highly expressed in the embryo before the gastrula stage, and it was predominantly expressed in the ovary, especially in the oocytes of stage II. In conclusion, this study reveals a potential function of cdca9 in the early embryogenesis and ovarian development of fish.

An integrated analysis of prognostic and immune infiltrates for hub genes as potential survival indicators in patients with lung adenocarcinoma

Objective

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the major subtypes of lung cancer that is associated with poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to identify useful biomarkers to enhance the treatment and diagnosis of LUAD.

Methods

GEO2R was used to identify common up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the GSE32863, GSE40791, and GSE75037 datasets. The DEGs were submitted to Metascape for gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis as well as construction of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, while the molecular complex detection (MCODE) plug-in was employed to filter important subnetworks. The expression levels of the hub genes and their prognostic values were evaluated using the UALCAN, GEPIA2, and Kaplan-Meier plotter databases. The timer algorithm was utilized to determine the correlation between immune cell infiltration and the expression levels of hub genes in LUAD tissues. In addition, the hub gene mutation landscape and the correlation analysis with tumor mutational burden (TMB) score were evaluated using maftools package and ggstatsplot package in R software, respectively.

Results

We identified 156 common up-regulated DEGs, with gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis indicating that they were mostly enriched in mitotic cell cycle process and cell cycle pathway. DEGs in the subnetwork with the largest number of genes were AURKB, CCNB2, CDC20, CDCA5, CDCA8, CENPF, and KNTC1. The seven hub genes were highly expressed in LUAD tissues and were associated with poor prognosis. These hub genes were negatively correlated with most immune cells. The somatic mutation landscape showed that AURKB, CDC20, CENPF, and KNTC1 had mutations and were positively correlated with TMB scores.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that increased expression of seven hub genes is associated with poor prognosis for LUAD patients. Additionally, the TMB score indicates that the high expression of hub gene increases immune cell infiltration in patients with lung adenocarcinoma which may significantly improve response to immunotherapy.

Integrative Analysis for Elucidating Transcriptomics Landscapes of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex and heterogeneous autoimmune disease that the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues. SLE is difficult to get a correct and timely diagnosis, which makes its morbidity and mortality rate very high. The pathogenesis of SLE remains to be elucidated. To clarify the potential pathogenic mechanism of SLE, we performed an integrated analysis of two RNA-seq datasets of SLE. Differential expression analysis revealed that there were 4,713 and 2,473 differentially expressed genes, respectively, most of which were up-regulated. After integrating differentially expressed genes, we identified 790 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene functional enrichment analysis was performed and found that common differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in some important immune-related biological processes and pathways. Our analysis provides new insights into a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and potential candidate markers for systemic lupus erythematosus.

MiR-133a-3p inhibits the malignant progression of esophageal cancer by targeting CDCA8

OBJECTIVE

To explore the interaction between miR-133a-3p and CDCA8 in esophageal cancer (EC) and their effect on malignant behavior of EC cells.

METHODS

Differential miRNAs and mRNAs were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression levels of miR-133a-3p and CDCA8 mRNA in EC cells. Western blot was used to detect the expression of CDCA8 protein. CCK-8, flow cytometry, and Transwell assays were conducted to detect cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis, as well as migration and invasion, respectively. The targeting relationship between miR-133a-3p and CDCA8 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay.

RESULTS

In EC, miR-133a-3p expression was evidently low and CDCA8 expression was prominently high. MiR-133a-3p down-regulated CDCA8 expression. A range of cell function experiments revealed that CDCA8 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of EC cells, reduced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase and inhibited cell apoptosis, while miR-133a-3p could reverse the above effects by regulating CDCA8.

CONCLUSION

MiR-133a-3p is a crucial tumor suppressor miRNA in EC, playing a tumor suppressor role by targeting CDCA8.

Genetics of recurrent pregnancy loss: a review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Human reproduction is remarkably inefficient; with pregnancy loss occurring in 10-30% of clinically recognized pregnancies. Of those, 3-5% of couples experience recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), more than 50% of who never receive an underlying diagnosis. Herein, we review evidence that genetic changes, including pathogenic variant(s) in highly penetrant genes, may provide an explanation for a proportion of couples with pregnancy loss.

RECENT FINDINGS

Genetic abnormalities that may predispose to pregnancy loss include chromosomal aneuploidy, copy number variants, single-gene changes and others. Although previously limited by the need for hypothesis-driven assessment, advancement of various molecular technologies have sheparded in the opportunity to identify molecular cause of highly heterogeneous conditions, including RPL. The identification of causative genetic aberrations associated with RPL demonstrates a promising area of further research.

SUMMARY

The journey of human development from a single-cell zygote to a term infant is complex process. Early research into copy number variants and highly penetrant single-gene changes may provide diagnosis for a proportion of couples with RPL as well as inform genes critical for early human development.

Double-targeting CDCA8 and E2F1 inhibits the growth and migration of malignant glioma

High-grade glioma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults with poor therapeutic efficiency and survival prognosis. Cell division cycle associated 8 (CDCA8) has been well known as a cell cycle regulator and tumor promotor in various malignant tumors. However, its biological role in glioma still remains unclear. Our results showed that high level of CDCA8 was significantly correlated with advanced WHO grade and poor overall survival and disease-free survival prognosis. In vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrated that CDCA8 promoted the glioma malignancy by promoting cell proliferation, cell migration, and inhibiting cell apoptosis. Moreover, we found its synergetic biological protein-E2F1 by the gene microarray chip. In this study, we revealed that CDCA8 synergized with E2F1 facilitated the proliferation and migration of glioma. In conclusion, our study provides a novel promising therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for malignant glioma treatment.