MicroRNA-3613-5p Promotes Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Proliferation through a RELA and AKT/MAPK Positive Feedback Loop

Diagnosis of Cutaneous Acute Graft‑Versus‑Host Disease Through Circulating Plasma miR-638, miR-6511b-5p, miR-3613-5p, miR-455-3p, miR-5787, and miR-548a-3p as Prospective Noninvasive Biomarkers Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

BACKGROUND

There are currently no laboratory tests that can accurately predict the likelihood of developing acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), a patient's response to treatment, or their survival chance. This research aimed to establish circulating miRNAs as diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive biomarkers of aGVHD.

METHODS

In a prospective cohort, we studied the incidence of cutaneous aGVHD in AML patients undergoing allo-HSCT at Shariati Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 2020-2023. Patients with cutaneous aGVHD were labeled as the case group, while patients without cutaneous aGVHD were selected as the control group. Accordingly, the expression levels of six significant miRNAs (miR-638, miR-6511b-5p, miR-3613-5p, miR-455-3p, miR-5787, miR-548a-3p) were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTqPCR) in three different time-points: before transplantation, on day 14 and day 21 after transplantation.

RESULTS

The levels of plasma miR-455-3p, miR-5787, miR-638, and miR-3613-5p were significantly downregulated, while miR-548a-3p, and miR-6511b-5p were significantly upregulated in individuals with cutaneous aGVHD in comparison to patients without GVHD. Additionally, the possibility for great diagnostic accuracy for cutaneous aGVHD was revealed by ROC curve analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs).

CONCLUSION

The study findings encourage us to hypothesize that the aforementioned miRNAs may contribute to the predominance of aGVHD, particularly low-grade cutaneous aGVHD.

NR5A2 gene affects the overall survival of LUAD patients by regulating the activity of CSCs through SNP pathway by OCLR algorithm and immune score

Objective

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tumor stem cells were screened, and the biological characteristics of NR5A2 gene were investigated.

Methods

The expression and prognosis of NR5A2 in human LUAD were predicted and analyzed through bioinformatics analysis from a human cancer database. Gene expression and clinical data of LUAD tumor and normal lung tissues were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and DEGs associated with lung cancer tumor stem cells (CSCs) were screened. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to screen and establish prognostic risk prediction models. The immune function of the patients was scored according to the model, and the relative immune functions of the high- and low-risk groups were compared to determine the difference in survival prognosis between the two groups. In addition, we calculated the index of stemness based on the transcriptome of the samples using one-class linear regression (OCLR).

Results

Bioinformatics analysis of a clinical cancer database showed that NR5A2 was significantly decreased in human LUAD tissues than in normal lung tissues, and the decrease in NR5A2 gene expression shortened the overall survival and progression-free survival of patients with LUAD.

Conclusion

The NR5A2 gene may regulate LUAD tumor stem cells through selective splicing mutations, thereby affecting the survival and prognosis of patients with lung cancer, and the NR5A2 gene may regulate CSCs through single nucleotide polymorphism.

NR5A2 promotes malignancy progression and mediates the effect of cisplatin in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Nuclear receptor subfamily five group A member two (NR5A2) plays a key role in the development of many tumor types, while it is uncertain in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). The aim of this work was to determine the role of NR5A2 in cSCC proliferation, and to determine whether NR5A2 mediates the effect of cisplatin in cSCC.

METHODS

We performed a systematic study of existing data and conducted a preliminary bioinformatics analysis of NR5A2 expression in cSCC using bioinformatics databases. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on cSCC tissues of seven patients to study NR5A2 expression. NR5A2 expression was examined in human keratin-forming cells (HaCaT) and human cSCC cells (A431, Colo-16, SCL-1, SCL-2, and HSC-5). Stable A431 and SCL-2 cell lines consisting of sh-RNA-NR5A2 were constructed to detect changes in cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and to determine the key proteins in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. We also investigated changes in the effects of cisplatin on cSCC cells by CCK-8, clone formation assay, and Flow apoptosis assay after NR5A2 knockdown.

RESULTS

NR5A2 showed enhanced expression in cSCC tissues than in healthy tissues. Downregulation of NR5A2 in cSCC cells led to the formation of a less malignant phenotype. In contrast, the proliferative capacity of the cSCC cells was enhanced posttreatment with RJW100, an NR5A2 agonist. Additionally, NR5A2 knockdown led to a decrease in the expression level of the proteins in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and this inhibition was reversed by LiCl and recombinant antibody, Wnt3a. Moreover, NR5A2 knockdown resulted in diminished proliferative capacity and increased apoptotic cells after the addition of cisplatin.

CONCLUSION

NR5A2 plays a crucial role in the progression of cSCC, and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway may be involved in the regulation of NR5A2-mediated cSCC. Knockdown of NR5A2 enhanced both the proliferation inhibiting and apoptosis promoting effects of cisplatin on cSCC.

[Plasma miRNA expression in patients with genetically confirmed multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome and its phenocopies]

BACKGROUND

MEN-1 is a rare autosomal dominant disease caused by mutations in MEN1 gene encoding the menin protein. This syndrome is characterized by the occurrence of parathyroid tumors, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, pituitary adenomas, as well as other endocrine and non-endocrine tumors. If a patient with the MEN-1 phenotype carry no mutations in the MEN1 gene, the condition considers a phenocopy of syndrome (phMEN1). The possible cause of this changes could be changes in epigenetic regulation, particularly in microRNA expression that might affect menin signaling pathways.

AIM

to identify differently expressed circulating miRNAs in plasma in patients with genetically confirmed MEN-1 syndrome, its phenocopies and healthy controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

single-center, case-control study was conducted. We assessed plasma microRNA expression in patients with genetically confirmed MEN-1 (gMEN1), phMEN1 and healthy controls. Morning plasma samples were collected from fasting patients and stored at -80°C. Total RNA isolation was performed using miRNeasy Mini Kit with QIAcube. The libraries were prepared by the QIAseq miRNA Library Kit following the manufacturer. Circulating miRNA sequencing was done on Illumina NextSeq 500 (Illumina). Subsequent data processing was performed using the DESeq2 bioinformatics algorithm.

RESULTS

we enrolled 21 consecutive patients with gMEN1 and 11 patients with phMEN1, along with 12 gender matched controls. Median age of gMEN1 was 38,0 [34,0; 41,0]; in phMEN1 - 59,0 [51,0; 60,0]; control - 59,5 [51,5; 62,5]. The gMEN1 group differed in age (p<0.01) but not gender (р=0.739) or BMI (р=0.116) compared to phMEN1 and controls group, the last two groups did not differ by these parameters (p>0.05). 25 microRNA were differently expressed in groups gMEN1 and phMEN1 (21 upregulated microRNAs, 4 - downregulated). Comparison of samples from the phMEN-1 group and relatively healthy controls revealed 10 differently expressed microRNAs: 5 - upregulated; 5 - downregulated. In the gMEN-1 and control groups, 26 differently expressed microRNAs were found: 24 - upregulated; 2 - downregulated. The miRNAs most differing in expression among the groups were selected for further validation by RT-qPCR (in the groups of gMEN1 vs phMEN1 - miR-3613-5p, miR-335-5p, miR-32-5p, miR-425-3p, miR-25-5p, miR-576-5p, miR-215-5p, miR-30a-3p, miR-141-3p, miR-760, miR-501-3p; gMEN1 vs control - miR-1976, miR-144-5p miR-532-3p, miR-375; as well as in phMEN1 vs control - miR-944, miR-191-5p, miR-98-5p).

CONCLUSION

In a pilot study, we detected microRNAs that may be expressed differently between patients with gMEN-1 and phMEN-1. The results need to be validated using different measurement method with larger sample size.

Single-cell dissection reveals the role of aggrephagy patterns in tumor microenvironment components aiding predicting prognosis and immunotherapy on lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the leading malignant cancers. Aggrephagy plays a critical role in key genetic events for various cancers; yet, how aggrephagy functions within the tumor microenvironment (TME) in LUAD remains to be elucidated.

METHODS

In this study, by sequential non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm, pseudotime analysis, cell-cell interaction analysis, and SCENIC analysis, we have shown that aggrephagy genes demonstrated various patterns among different cell types in LUAD TME. LUAD and Immunotherapy cohorts from public repository were used to determine the prognosis and immune response of aggrephagy TME subtypes. The aggrephagy-deprived prognostic score (ADPS) was quantified based on machine learning algorithms.

RESULTS

The cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and CD8+ T cells have various aggrephagy patterns, which enhance the intensity of intercellular communication and transcription factor activation. Furthermore, based on the signatures of the newly defined aggrephagy cell subtypes and expression profiles of large cohorts in LUAD patients, we determine that DYNC1I2+CAF-C1, DYNLL1+CAF-C2, PARK7+CAF-C3, VIM+Mac-C1, PARK7+Mac-C2, VIM+CD8+T_cells-C1, UBA52+CD8+T_cells-C2, TUBA4A+CD8+T_ cells-C3, and TUBA1A+CD8+T_cells-C4 are crucial prognostic factors for LUAD patients. The developed ADPS could predict survival outcomes and immunotherapeutic response across ten cohorts (n = 1838), and patients with low ADPS owned a better prognosis, lower genomic alterations, and are more sensitive to immunotherapy. Meanwhile, based on PRISM, CTRP, and CMAP databases, PLK inhibitor BI-2536, may be a potential agent for patients with high ADPS.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our novel and systematic single-cell analysis has revealed the unique role of aggrephagy in remodeling the TME of LUAD. As a newly demonstrated biomarker, the ADPS facilitates the clinical management and individualized treatment of LUAD.

MicroRNA‑mediated regulation in lung adenocarcinoma: Signaling pathways and potential therapeutic implications (Review)

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) poses a significant global health burden owing to its high incidence rate and unfavorable prognosis, driven by frequent recurrence and drug resistance. Understanding the biological mechanisms underlying LUAD is imperative to developing advanced therapeutic strategies. Recent research has highlighted the role of dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in LUAD progression through diverse signaling pathways, including the Wnt and AKT pathways. Of particular interest is the novel pathological mechanism involving the interaction between competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and miRNAs. This review critically analyzed the impact of aberrant miRNA expression on LUAD development, shedding light on the associated signaling pathways. It also highlighted the emerging significance of ceRNA‑miRNA interactions in LUAD pathogenesis. Elucidating the intricate regulatory networks involving miRNAs and ceRNAs presents a promising avenue for the development of potential therapeutic interventions and diagnostic biomarkers in LUAD. Further research in this area is essential to advance precision medicine approaches and improve patient outcomes.

The hsa-miR-3613-5p, a potential oncogene correlated with diagnostic and prognostic merits in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma

MicroRNA-3613 (hsa-miR-3613-5p), a biomarker with a dual role as an oncogenic or tumor suppressor, is associated with different types of cancer. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the hsa-miR-3613-5p gene expression and Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC). Utilizing several bioinformatics tools, we examined the expression level and clinicopathological value of hsa-miR-3613-5p in patients with KIRC compared to normal tissues. Other bioinformatic measures, including survival analysis, diagnostic merit of hsa-miR-3613-5p, downstream target prediction, potential upstream lncRNAs, network construction, and functional enrichment analysis of hsa-miR-3613-5p, were performed. We observed that overexpression of hsa-miR-3613-5p in KIRC tissues had valuable diagnostic merit and was significantly correlated with the poor overall survival of KIRC patients. We also realized a correlation between abnormal expression of hsa-miR-3613-5p and several clinical parameters such as pathological stage, race, age, and histological grades in patients with KIRC. Moreover, we constructed the most potential regulatory network of hsa-miR-3613-5p in KIRC with 17 different axes, including four pseudogenes, two lncRNAs, and three mRNAs. Besides, we uncovered six variants in the mature form of hsa-miR-3613-5p. Finally, pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that the top-ranked pathways for hsa-miR-3613-5p are cell cycle, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and hepatocellular carcinoma pathways. The present report suggests that the higher expression of hsa-miR-3613-5p is associated with the progression of KIRC. Therefore, it may be considered a valuable indicator for the early detection, risk stratification, and targeted treatment of patients with KIRC.

Differentiation-related genes in tumor-associated macrophages as potential prognostic biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer

Background

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of differentiation-related genes (DRGs) in tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data from GEO and bulk RNA-seq data from TCGA were analyzed to identify DRGs using trajectory method. Functional gene analysis was carried out by GO/KEGG enrichment analysis. The mRNA and protein expression in human tissue were analyzed by HPA and GEPIA databases. To investigate the prognostic value of these genes, three risk score (RS) models in different pathological types of NSCLC were generated and predicted NSCLC prognosis in datasets from TCGA, UCSC and GEO databases.

Results

1,738 DRGs were identified through trajectory analysis. GO/KEGG analysis showed that these genes were predominantly related to myeloid leukocyte activation and leukocyte migration. 13 DRGs (C1QB, CCL4, CD14, CD84, FGL2, MS4A6A, NLRP3, PLEK, RNASE6, SAMSN1, SPN, TMEM176B, ZEB2) related to prognosis were obtained through univariate Cox analysis and Lasso regression. C1QB, CD84, FGL2, MS4A6A, NLRP3, PLEK, SAMSN1, SPN, and ZEB2 were downregulated in NSCLC compared to non-cancer tissue. The mRNA of 13 genes were significantly expressed in pulmonary macrophages with strong cell specificity. Meanwhile, immunohistochemical staining showed that C1QB, CCL4, SPN, CD14, NLRP3, SAMSN1, MS4A6A, TMEM176B were expressed in different degrees in lung cancer tissues. ZEB2 (HR=1.4, P&lt;0.05) and CD14 (HR=1.6, P&lt;0.05) expression were associated with a worse prognosis in lung squamous cell carcinoma; ZEB2 (HR=0.64, P&lt;0.05), CD84 (HR=0.65, P&lt;0.05), PLEK (HR=0.71, P&lt;0.05) and FGL2 (HR=0.61, P&lt;0.05) expression were associated with a better prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma. Three RS models based on 13 DRGs both showed that the high RS was significantly associated with poor prognosis in different pathological types of NSCLC.

Conclusions

This study highlights the prognostic value of DRGs in TAMs in NSCLC patients, providing novel insights for the development of therapeutic and prognostic targets based on TAM functional differences.

Identification of the miRNAome in human fracture callus and nonunion tissues

Background

Nonunions remain a challenging post-traumatic complication that often leads to a financial and health burden that affects the patient's quality of life. Despite a wealth of knowledge about fracture repair, especially gene and more recently miRNA expression, much remains unknown about the molecular differences between normal physiological repair (callus tissue) and a nonunion. To probe this lack of knowledge, we embarked on a study that sought to identify and compare the human miRNAome of normal bone to that present in a normal fracture callus and those from two different classic nonunion types, hypertrophic and oligotrophic.

Methods

Normal bone and callus tissue samples were harvested during revision surgery from patients with physiological fracture repair and nonunions (hypertrophic and oligotrophic) and analyzed using histology. Also, miRNAs were isolated and screened using microarrays followed by bioinformatic analyses, including, differential expression, pathways and biological processes, as well as elucidation of target genes.

Results

Out of 30,424 mature miRNAs (from 203 organisms) screened via microarrays, 635 (∼2.1%) miRNAs were found to be upregulated and 855 (∼2.8%) downregulated in the fracture callus and nonunion tissues as compared to intact bone. As our tissue samples were derived from humans, we focused on the human miRNAs and out of the 4223 human miRNAs, 86 miRNAs (∼2.0%) were upregulated and 51 (∼1.2%) were downregulated. Although there were similarities between the three experimental samples, we also found specific miRNAs that were unique to individual samples. We further identified the predicted target genes from these differentially expressed miRNAs as well as the relevant biological processes, including specific signaling pathways that are activated in all three experimental samples.

Conclusion

Collectively, this is the first comprehensive study reporting on the miRNAome of intact bone as compared to fracture callus and nonunion tissues. Further, we identify specific miRNAs involved in normal physiological fracture repair as well as those of nonunions.

The translational potential of this article

The data generated from this study further increase our molecular understanding of the roles of miRNAs during normal and aberrant fracture repair and this knowledge can be used in the future in the development of miRNA-based therapeutics for skeletal regeneration.

Chemical composition and therapeutic mechanism of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction in the treatment of COVID-19 by network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamic analysis

Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction (XBCQD), a classic traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat COVID-19 in China with remarkable curative effect. However, the chemical composition and potential therapeutic mechanism is still unknown. Here, we used multiple open-source databases and literature mining to select compounds and potential targets for XBCQD. The COVID-19 related targets were collected from GeneCards and NCBI gene databases. After identifying putative targets of XBCQD for the treatment of COVID-19, PPI network was constructed by STRING database. The hub targets were extracted by Cytoscape 3.7.2 and MCODE analysis was carried out to extract modules in the PPI network. R 3.6.3 was used for GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis. The effective compounds were obtained via network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis. Drug-likeness analysis and ADMET assessments were performed to select core compounds. Moreover, interactions between core compounds and hub targets were investigated through molecular docking, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations and MM-PBSA calculations. As a result, we collected 638 targets from 61 compounds of XBCQD and 845 COVID-19 related targets, of which 79 were putative targets. Based on the bioinformatics analysis, 10 core compounds and 34 hub targets of XBCQD for the treatment of COVID-19 were successfully screened. The enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG indicated that XBCQD mainly exerted therapeutic effects on COVID-19 by regulating signal pathways related to viral infection and inflammatory response. Meanwhile, the results of molecular docking showed that there was a stable binding between the core compounds and hub targets. Moreover, MD simulations and MM-PBSA analyses revealed that these compounds exhibited stable conformations and interacted well with hub targets during the simulations. In conclusion, our research comprehensively explained the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway intervention mechanism of XBCQD in the treatment of COVID-19, which provided evidence and new insights for further research.

Transcriptome analysis of adipocytokines and their-related LncRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma revealing the association with prognosis, immune infiltration, and metabolic characteristics

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is amongst the major contributors to cancer-related deaths on a global scale. Adipocytokines and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are indispensable participants in cancer. We performed a pan-cancer analysis of the mRNA expression, single nucleotide variation, copy number variation, and prognostic value of adipocytokines. LUAD samples were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Simultaneously, train, internal and external cohorts were grouped. After a stepwise screening of optimized genes through least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis, random forest algorithm,, and Cox regression analysis, an adipocytokine-related prognostic signature (ARPS) with superior performance compared with four additional well-established signatures for survival prediction was constructed. After determination of risk levels, the discrepancy of immune microenvironment, immune checkpoint gene expression, immune subtypes, and immune response in low- and high-risk cohorts were explored through multiple bioinformatics methods. Abnormal pathways underlying high- and low-risk subgroups were identified through gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Immune-and metabolism-related pathways that were correlated with risk score were selected through single sample GSEA. Finally, a nomogram with satisfied predictive survival probability was plotted. In summary, this study offers meaningful information for clinical treatment and scientific investigation.

Exosome-Mediated Transfer of miR-3613-5p Enhances Doxorubicin Resistance by Suppression of PTEN Expression in Breast Cancer Cells

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide, and patients easily develop resistance to the first-line drug doxorubicin. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of drug resistance in breast cancer is imperative. Exosomes mediate the crosstalk between neighboring cells and intercellular communication. Incorporation of miRNAs into exosomes prevents the degradation and facilitates the intercellular communication, which has been indicated in regulation of drug resistance. qRT-PCR revealed that miR-3613-5p is upregulated in drug-resistant breast cancer, and miR-3613-5p exists in exosomes. It is predicted that miR-3613-5p can bind to the tumor suppressor gene PTEN. In this study, our results showed that miR-3613-5p was upregulated in drug-resistant tissue and in exosomes of breast cancer cells resistant to doxorubicin. CCK8, crystal violet staining, and flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that exosome mediated miR-3613-5p transfer and enhanced the resistance to doxorubicin of breast cancer cells. Western blotting showed that miR-3613-5p could target PTEN and regulate the expression of PTEN. Exosome-mediated transfer of miR-3613-5p enhanced the resistance to doxorubicin by inhibition of PTEN in breast cancer cells.

Identification and validation of a hypoxia-immune signature for overall survival prediction in lung adenocarcinoma

Objective: The interaction between immunity and hypoxia in tumor microenvironment (TME) has clinical significance, and this study aims to explore immune-hypoxia related biomarkers in LUAD to guide accurate prognosis of patients.

Methods: The LUAD gene expression dataset was downloaded from GEO and TCGA databases. The immune-related genes and hypoxia-related genes were acquired from ImmPort and MSigDB databases, respectively. Genes related to immune and hypoxia in LUAD were obtained by intersection. The significantly prognostic genes in LUAD were obtained by LASSO and Cox regression analyses and a prognostic model was constructed. Kaplan-Meier and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to evaluate and validate model reliability. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and gene set variation analysis (GSVA) were employed to analyze immune cell infiltration and pathway differences between high- and low-risk groups. Nomogram and calibration curves for survival curve and clinical features were drawn to measure prognostic value of the model.

Results: The prognosis model of LUAD was constructed based on seven immune-hypoxia related genes: S100P, S100A16, PGK1, TNFSF11, ARRB1, NCR3, and TSLP. Survival analysis revealed a poor prognosis in high-risk group. ssGSEA result suggested that activities of immune cells in high-risk group was remarkably lower than in low-risk group, and GSVA result showed that immune-related pathway was notably activated in low-risk group.

Conclusion: Immune-hypoxia related genes were found to be prognostic biomarkers for LUAD patients, based on which a 7-immune-hypoxia related gene-signature was constructed. This model can assess immune status of LUAD patients, and provide clinical reference for individualized prognosis, treatment and follow-up of LUAD patients.

Duhuo Jisheng Decoction inhibits the activity of osteoclasts in osteonecrosis of the femoral head via regulation of the RELA/AKT1 axis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of Duhuo Jisheng Decotion (DHJSD) on the activity of osteoclasts in osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) and its underlying mechanism relating to the RELA/AKT1 axis.

METHODS

The TCMSP database was used to search for the effective ingredients and the targets of various Chinese medicines in DHJSD. Its targets were intersected with ONFH risk genes in DisGeNET and Malacards databases to obtain the potential target genes. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of potential target genes in ONFH tissues, and the ChIP experiment was used to verify the relationship between RELA and AKT1 promoter. An ONFH rat model was established and DHJSD was used for the treatment. The expressions of RELA and AKT1 in rats were intervened, and rats were grouped. qRT-PCR was applied to detect the expression levels of osteoclast markers ACP5, CTSK, and RANK in the tissues to evaluate the regulation of DHJSD on target genes and the mechanism of osteoclast differentiation.

RESULTS

A total of 231 effective targets of DHJSD were screened out in the TCMSP database. Intersection with ONFH risk genes yielded a total of 20 candidate genes. Protein-protein interaction analysis showed that AKT1 regulated other genes. KEGG functional enrichment analysis revealed that STAT1, AKT1, PPARG, PPARG, TNF and RELA were enriched in osteoclast differentiation pathway. Compared with normal tissues, the expression of STAT1 was decreased in ONFH tissues, and the expressions of AKT1, PPARG, TNF, and RELA were increased, among which, RELA and AKT1 are the most significantly increased genes (all P<0.05). ChIP experiment found that RELA had a binding relationship with AKT1 promoter. DHJST had the inhibitory effect on the expression of RELA and AKT1 in ONFH tissues, as well as the levels of ACP5, CTSK, and RANK. However, overexpression of RELA or AKT1 attenuated the inhibitory effect of DHJSD on the levels of ACP5, CTSK and RANK. Meanwhile, knocking down RELA partially reversed the effect of AKT1 on the effect of DHJSD.

CONCLUSION

DHJSD inhibits the activity of osteoclasts in ONFH by inhibiting the RELA/AKT1 axis. This study further clarifies the potential specific mechanism of DHJSD to improve ONFH.

An Integrative Analysis Framework for Identifying the Prognostic Markers from Multidimensional RNA Data of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

The altered regulatory status of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), miRNA, and mRNA and their interactions play critical roles in tumor proliferation, metastasis, and progression, which ultimately influence cancer prognosis. However, there are limited studies of comprehensive identification of prognostic biomarkers from combined data sets of the three RNA types in the highly metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The current study employed an integrative analysis framework of functional genomics approaches and machine learning methods to the lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA data and identified 16 RNAs (3 lncRNAs, 6 miRNAs, and 7 mRNAs) of prognostic value, with 9 of them novel. A 16 RNA-based score was established for prognosis prediction of ccRCC with significance (P < 0.0001). The area under the curve for the score model was 0.868 to 0.870 in the training cohort and 0.714 to 0.778 in the validation cohort. Construction of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction network showed that the downstream mRNAs and upstream lncRNAs in the network initiated from the miRNA or lncRNA markers exhibit significant enrichment in functional classifications associated with cancer metastasis, proliferation, progression, or prognosis. The functional analysis provided clear support for the role of the RNA biomarkers in predicting cancer prognosis. This study provides promising biomarkers for predicting prognosis of ccRCC using multidimensional RNA data, and these findings are expected to facilitate potential clinical applications of the biomarkers.

MicroRNA miR-3646 promotes malignancy of lung adenocarcinoma cells by suppressing sorbin and SH3 domain-containing protein 1 via the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase signaling pathway

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a highly malignant tumor. In this study, we examined the role of miR-3646 and its underlying mechanism in the progression of LUAD. The expression of miR-3646 and sorbin and SH3 domain-containing protein 1 (SORBS1) in LUAD tissues and cells was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. LUAD cell adhesion, proliferation, apoptosis was determined. The targeting relationship between SORBS1 and miR-3646 was verified by dual luciferase and RNA pull-down assays. In vivo assays were performed to verify the in vitro results. The expression of miR-3646 was found to be upregulated in LUAD tissues and cells. MiR-3646 overexpression stimulated the proliferation and adhesion of LUAD cells but inhibite d apoptosis, whereas a miR-3646 inhibitor produced the opposite results. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of miR-3646 inhibitor was verified in vivo. SORBS1, a target gene identified downstream of miR-3646, was downregulated in LUAD tissues and cells. Additionally, increased SORBS1 inhibited the malignant phenotypes of LUAD cells, which was restored by miR-3646 upregulation. Additionally, western blot analysis revealed that SORBS1 ectopic expression disrupted the JNK signaling pathway, and this effect was restored by miR-3646 overexpression. Thus, this study revealed that miR-3646 promotes LUAD cell proliferation and adhesion, and reduces apoptosis by directly downregulating SORBS1 via the JNK signaling pathway. Investigation of the molecular mechanism of LUAD carcinogenesis revealed that miR-3646 may serve as a biomarker for LUAD treatment.in vivo

Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking-Based Investigation: Prunus mume Against Colorectal Cancer via Silencing RelA Expression

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most pervasive cancers in the human disease spectrum worldwide, ranked the second most common cause of cancer death by the end of 2020. Prunus mume (PM) is an essential traditional Chinese medicine for the adjuvant treatment of solid tumors, including CRC. In the current study, we utilize means of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and multilayer experimental verification to research mechanism. The five bioactive compounds and a total of eight critical differentially expressed genes are screened out using the bioinformatics approaches of Cytoscape software, String database, Gene Ontology analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, and molecular docking. RelA has been proven to be highly expressed in CRC. Experiments in vitro have shown that kaempferol, the main active component of PM, dramatically inhibited the growth, migration, and invasion of CRC cells, and experiments in vivo have shown that PM effectively delays CRC formation and improves the survival cycle of mice. Further analysis shows that PM inhibits the CRC progression by down-regulating the expression level of RelA, Bax, caspase 3, caspase 9, and EGFR in CRC. PM and its extract are potentially effective therapeutics for the treatment of CRC via the RelA/nuclear factor κB signaling pathway.

Application of network pharmacology and molecular docking to elucidate the potential mechanism of Astragalus-Scorpion against prostate cancer

The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of the Astragalus-Scorpion drug pair in the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa). We employed network pharmacology and molecular docking technology to retrieving the active ingredients and corresponding targets of Astragalus-Scorpion by using TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, TCMID and Swiss Target Prediction Databases. The targets related to PCa were retrieved through GeneCards. Cytoscape software was used to construct the 'active ingredient-target disease' network, and GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on the common targets. Autodock software was used for molecular docking verification. In total, 26 active ingredients, 340 potential targets related to active ingredients and 122 common targets were screened from Astragalus-Scorpion drug pair. The core targets of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were JUN, AKT1, IL6, MAPK1 and RELA, whereas the core active ingredients were quercetin, kaempferol, formononetin, 7-o-methylisomucronulatol and calycosin. Nearly 762 GO entries and 154 pathways were obtained by using the pathway enrichment analysis. Molecular docking results revealed that quercetin and kaempferol bind to AKT1 and formononetin binds to RELA, all of which were found to be stable bounds.

MiR-103a promotes tumour growth and influences glucose metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and high-mortality cancer worldwide. Numerous microRNAs have crucial roles in the progression of different cancers. However, identifying the important microRNAs and the target biological function of the microRNA in HCC progression is difficult. In this study, we selected highly expressed microRNAs with different read counts as candidate microRNAs and then tested whether the microRNAs were differentially expressed in HCC tumour tissues, and we found that their expression was related to the HCC prognosis. Then, we investigated the effects of microRNAs on the cell growth and mobility of HCC using a real-time cell analyser (RTCA), colony formation assay and subcutaneous xenograft models. We further used deep-sequencing technology and bioinformatic analyses to evaluate the main functions of the microRNAs. We found that miR-103a was one of the most highly expressed microRNAs in HCC tissues and that it was upregulated in HCC tissue compared with the controls. In addition, high miR-103a expression was associated with poor patient prognosis, and its overexpression promoted HCC cell growth and mobility. A functional enrichment analysis showed that miR-103a mainly promoted glucose metabolism and inhibited cell death. We validated this analysis, and the data showed that miR-103a promoted glucose metabolism-likely function and directly inhibited cell death via ATP11A and EIF5. Therefore, our study revealed that miR-103a may act as a key mediator in HCC progression.