ncFO: A Comprehensive Resource of Curated and Predicted ncRNAs Associated with Ferroptosis

Noncoding RNAs regulating ferroptosis in cardiovascular diseases: novel roles and therapeutic strategies

The morbidity and mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are increasing; thus, they impose substantial health and economic burdens worldwide, and effective interventions are needed for immediate resolution of this issue. Recent studies have suggested that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) play critical roles in the occurrence and development of CVDs and are potential therapeutic targets and novel biomarkers for these diseases. Newly discovered modes of cell death, including necroptosis, pyroptosis, apoptosis, autophagy-dependent cell death and ferroptosis, also play key roles in CVD progression. However, ferroptosis, which differs from the other aforementioned forms of regulated cell death in terms of cell morphology, biochemistry and inhereditability, is a unique iron-dependent mode of nonapoptotic cell death induced by abnormal iron metabolism and excessive accumulation of iron-dependent lipid peroxides and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increasing evidence has confirmed that ncRNA-mediated ferroptosis is involved in regulating tissue homeostasis and CVD-related pathophysiological conditions, such as cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, myocardial infarction (MI), atrial fibrillation (AF), cardiomyopathy and heart failure (HF). In this review, we summarize the underlying mechanism of ferroptosis, discuss the pathophysiological effects of ncRNA-mediated ferroptosis in CVDs and provide ideas for effective therapeutic strategies.

Exploring MPC1 as a potential ferroptosis-linked biomarker in the cervical cancer tumor microenvironment: a comprehensive analysis

BACKGROUND

The increasing problems of drug and radiotherapy resistance in cervical cancer underscores the need for novel methods for its management. Reports indicate that the expression of MPC1 may be associated with the tumor microenvironment and the occurrence of ferroptosis in cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to visually illustrate the prognostic significance and immunological characterization of MPC1 in cervical cancer.

METHODS

The expression profile and prognostic significance of MPC1 were analyzed using various databases, including UALCAN, TIMER2, GEPIA2, and Kaplan-Meier Plotter. TISIDB, TIMER2, and immunohistochemical analysis were used to investigate the correlation between MPC1 expression and immune infiltration. GO enrichment analysis, KEGG analysis, Reactome analysis, ConsensusPathDB, and GeneMANIA were used to visualize the functional enrichment of MPC1 and signaling pathways related to MPC1. The correlation analysis was carried out to examine the relationship between MPC1 and Ferroptosis gene in TIMER 2.0, ncFO, GEPIA Database and Kaplan-Meier Plotter.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that the expression levels of MPC1 in cervical cancer tissues were lower than those in normal cervical tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed shorter overall survival in cervical cancer patients with low levels of MPC1 expression. The expression of MPC1 was related to the infiltrating levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in cervical cancer. Moreover, MPC1 expression was associated with the iron-mediated cell death pathway, and several important ferroptosis genes were upregulated in cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, after knocking down MPC1 in HeLa cells, the expression of these genes decreased.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that MPC1 functions as a prognostic indicator and plays a role in the regulation of the ferroptosis pathway in cervical cancer.

Unveiling the Network regulatory mechanism of ncRNAs on the Ferroptosis Pathway: Implications for Preeclampsia

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are transcripts originating from the genome that do not serve as templates for protein synthesis. They function as epigenetic and translational regulators in various pathophysiological mechanisms, including cell proliferation and apoptosis. The ferroptosis signaling pathway, a novel mode of cell death, participates in numerous pathophysiological processes. Its signaling transmission is both complex and precise, featuring interconnected and interdependent pathways. Recent studies suggest that ncRNAs can finely regulate key genes in the ferroptosis pathway, thus modulating cellular functions, reducing oxidative stress, and maintaining maternal-fetal interface homeostasis. Future strategies targeting the ncRNA/ferroptosis axis may provide new perspectives and potential intervention points for treating preeclampsia. This article clarifies how the ncRNA/ferroptosis axis impacts preeclampsia, revealing how ncRNAs interact with ferroptosis, and pinpointing new molecular targets for the treatment of preeclampsia, thereby providing theoretical support for clinical strategies.

Noncoding RNAs and programmed cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma: Significant role of epigenetic modifications in prognosis, chemoresistance, and tumor recurrence rate

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer with a high death rate in the world. The molecular mechanisms related to the pathogenesis of HCC have not been precisely defined so far. Hence, this review aimed to address the potential cross-talk between noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and programmed cell death in HCC. All related papers in the English language up to June 2023 were collected and screened. The searched keywords in scientific databases, including Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar, were HCC, ncRNAs, Epigenetic, Programmed cell death, Autophagy, Apoptosis, Ferroptosis, Chemoresistance, Tumor recurrence, Prognosis, and Prediction. According to the reports, ncRNAs, comprising long ncRNAs, microRNAs, circular RNAs, and small nucleolar RNAs can affect cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis, as well as cell death-related processes, such as autophagy, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and apoptosis in HCC by regulating cancer-associated genes and signaling pathways, for example, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinase/MAPK, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. It seems that ncRNAs, as epigenetic regulators, can be utilized as biomarkers in diagnosis, prognosis, survival and recurrence rates prediction, chemoresistance, and evaluation of therapeutic response in HCC patients. However, more scientific evidence is suggested to be accomplished to confirm these results.

FERREG: ferroptosis-based regulation of disease occurrence, progression and therapeutic response

Ferroptosis is a non-apoptotic, iron-dependent regulatory form of cell death characterized by the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species. In recent years, a large and growing body of literature has investigated ferroptosis. Since ferroptosis is associated with various physiological activities and regulated by a variety of cellular metabolism and mitochondrial activity, ferroptosis has been closely related to the occurrence and development of many diseases, including cancer, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, ischemia-reperfusion injury and other pathological cell death. The regulation of ferroptosis mainly focuses on three pathways: system Xc-/GPX4 axis, lipid peroxidation and iron metabolism. The genes involved in these processes were divided into driver, suppressor and marker. Importantly, small molecules or drugs that mediate the expression of these genes are often good treatments in the clinic. Herein, a newly developed database, named 'FERREG', is documented to (i) providing the data of ferroptosis-related regulation of diseases occurrence, progression and drug response; (ii) explicitly describing the molecular mechanisms underlying each regulation; and (iii) fully referencing the collected data by cross-linking them to available databases. Collectively, FERREG contains 51 targets, 718 regulators, 445 ferroptosis-related drugs and 158 ferroptosis-related disease responses. FERREG can be accessed at https://idrblab.org/ferreg/.