MSI2 expression is decreased in grade II of gastric carcinoma

The androgen receptor messenger RNA: what do we know?

The Androgen Receptor (AR), transcriptionally activated by its ligands, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), is widely expressed in cells and tissues, influencing normal biology and disease states. The protein product of the AR gene is involved in the regulation of numerous biological functions, including the development and maintenance of the normal prostate gland and of the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and immune systems. Androgen signalling, mediated by AR protein, plays a crucial role in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), and is presumed to be involved in other cancers including those of the breast, bladder, liver and kidney. Significant research and reviews have focused on AR protein function; however, inadequate research and literature exist to define the function of AR mRNA in normal and cancer cells. The AR mRNA transcript is nearly 11 Kb long and contains a long 3’ untranslated region (UTR), suggesting its biological role in post-transcriptional regulation, consequently affecting the overall functions of both normal and cancer cells. Research has demonstrated that many biological activities, including RNA stability, translation, cellular trafficking and localization, are associated with the 3’ UTRs of mRNAs. In this review, we describe the potential role of the AR 3’ UTR and summarize RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that interact with the AR mRNA to regulate post-transcriptional metabolism. We highlight the importance of AR mRNA as a critical modulator of carcinogenesis and its important role in developing therapy-resistant prostate cancer.

Potential Role of Musashi-2 RNA-Binding Protein in Cancer EMT

Local invasion and distant metastasis are the key hallmarks in the aggressive progression of malignant tumors, including the ability of cancer cells to detach from the extracellular matrix overcome apoptosis, and disseminate into distant sites. It is generally believed that this malignant behavior is stimulated by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Musashi (MSI) RNA-binding proteins, belonging to the evolutionarily conserved RNA-binding proteins (RBP) family, were originally discovered to regulate asymmetric cell division during embryonic development. Recently, Musashi-2 (MSI2), as a key member of MSI family, has been prevalently reported to be tightly associated with the advanced clinical stage of several cancers. Multiple oncogenic signaling pathways mediated by MSI2 play vital roles in EMT. Here, we systematically reviewed the detailed role and signal networks of MSI2 in regulating cancer development, especially in EMT signal transduction, involving EGF, TGF-β, Notch, and Wnt pathways.

Musashi2 promotes the progression of pancreatic cancer through a novel ISYNA1-p21/ZEB-1 pathway

Our previous studies found overexpression of Musashi2 (MSI2) conduced to the progression and chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer (PC) by negative regulation of Numb and wild type p53 (wtp53). Now, we further investigated the novel signalling involved with MSI2 in PC. We identified inositol‐3‐phosphate synthase 1 (ISYNA1) as a novel tumour suppressor regulated by MSI2. High MSI2 and low ISYNA1 expression were prevalently observed in 91 PC tissues. ISYNA1 expression was negatively correlated with MSI2 expression, T stage, vascular permeation and poor prognosis in PC patients. What's more, patients expressed high MSI2 and low ISYNA1 level had a significant worse prognosis. And in wtp53 Capan‐2 and SW1990 cells, ISYNA1 was downregulated by p53 silencing. ISYNA1 silencing promoted cell proliferation and cell cycle by inhibiting p21 and enhanced cell migration and invasion by upregulating ZEB‐1. However, MSI2 silencing upregulated ISYNA1 and p21 but downregulated ZEB‐1, which can be rescued by ISYNA1 silencing. Moreover, reduction of cell migration and invasion resulting from MSI2 silencing was significantly reversed by ISYNA1 silencing. In summary, MSI2 facilitates the development of PC through a novel ISYNA1‐p21/ZEB‐1 pathway, which provides new gene target therapy for PC.

Construction and Analysis of the Tumor-Specific mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA Network in Gastric Cancer

Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) is a statistical method that has been widely used in recent years to explore gene co-expression modules. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) is commonly involved in the cancer gene expression regulation mechanism. Some ceRNA networks are recognized in gastric cancer; however, the prognosis-associated ceRNA network has not been fully identified using WGCNA. We performed WGCNA using datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) to identify cancer-associated modules. The criteria of differentially expressed RNAs between normal stomach samples and gastric cancer samples were set at the false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.01 and |fold change (FC)| > 1.3. The ceRNA relationships obtained from the RNAinter database were examined by both the Pearson correlation test and hypergeometric test to confirm the mRNA–lncRNA regulation. Overlapped genes were recognized at the intersections of genes predicted by ceRNA relationships, differentially expressed genes, and genes in cancer-specific modules. These were then used for univariate and multivariate Cox analyses to construct a risk score model. The ceRNA network was constructed based on the genes in this model. WGCNA-uncovered genes in the green and turquoise modules are those most associated with gastric cancer. Eighty differentially expressed genes were observed to have potential prognostic value, which led to the identification of 12 prognosis-related mRNAs (KIF15, FEN1, ZFP69B, SP6, SPARC, TTF2, MSI2, KYNU, ACLY, KIF21B, SLC12A7, and ZNF823) to construct a risk score model. The risk genes were validated using the GSE62254 and GSE84433 datasets, with 0.82 as the universal cutoff value. 12 genes, 12 lncRNAs, and 35 miRNAs were used to build a ceRNA network with 86 dysregulated lncRNA–mRNA ceRNA pairs. Finally, we developed a 12-gene signature from both prognosis-related and tumor-specific genes, and then constructed a ceRNA network in gastric cancer. Our findings may provide novel insights into the treatment of gastric cancer.

Musashi2 promotes EGF-induced EMT in pancreatic cancer via ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling

Background

Our previous study showed Musashi2 (MSI2) promoted chemotherapy resistance and pernicious biology of pancreatic cancer (PC) by down-regulating Numb and p53. We further explored the novel molecular mechanism involving its oncogenic role in PC development.

Methods

We investigated the potential role and mechanism of MSI2 in EGF-induced EMT in PC in vitro and vivo.

Results

EGF enhanced EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) phosphorylation, induced EMT and activated ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling in 2 PC cells. However, MSI2 silencing reversed EGF stimulated function, including inhibiting EGF-promoted EMT-like cell morphology and EGF-enhanced cell invasion and migration. Meanwhile, MSI2 silencing inhibited EGF-enhanced EGFR phosphorylation at tyrosine 1068 and reversed EGF-induced change of the key proteins in EMT and ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling (ZEB1, E-cad, ZO-1, β-catenin, pERK and c-Myc). Additionally, MSI2 was co-stained and co-immunoprecipitated with ZEB1, pERK and c-Myc in PC cells by IF and co-IP, implying a close interaction between them. In vivo, MSI2 silencing inhibited pancreatic tumor size in situ and distant liver metastases. A close relationship of MSI2 with EMT and ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling were also observed in vivo and human PC samples, which coordinately promoted the poor prognosis of PC patients.

Conclusions

MSI2 promotes EGF-induced EMT in PC via ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling.

RNA-binding protein Musashi2 stabilizing androgen receptor drives prostate cancer progression

The androgen receptor (AR) pathway is critical for prostate cancer carcinogenesis and development; however, after 18‐24 months of AR blocking therapy, patients invariably progress to castration‐resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which remains an urgent problem to be solved. Therefore, finding key molecules that interact with AR as novel strategies to treat prostate cancer and even CRPC is desperately needed. In the current study, we focused on the regulation of RNA‐binding proteins (RBPs) associated with AR and determined that the mRNA and protein levels of AR were highly correlated with Musashi2 (MSI2) levels. MSI2 was upregulated in prostate cancer specimens and significantly correlated with advanced tumor grades. Downregulation of MSI2 in both androgen sensitive and insensitive prostate cancer cells inhibited tumor formation in vivo and decreased cell growth in vitro, which could be reversed by AR overexpression. Mechanistically, MSI2 directly bound to the 3′‐untranslated region (UTR) of AR mRNA to increase its stability and, thus, enhanced its transcriptional activity. Our findings illustrate a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in prostate cancer cell proliferation regulated by the MSI2‐AR axis and provide novel evidence towards a strategy against prostate cancer.

Increased musashi 2 expression indicates a poor prognosis and promotes malignant phenotypes in gastric cancer

Musashi 2 (MSI2), a marker of stem and progenitor cells, has been identified as an oncogene. Various investigations have revealed that MSI2 is differently expressed in several types of blood cancer and solid cancers. However, its expression and biological functions in gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. In the present study, MSI2 mRNA and protein expression were assessed in GC tissue samples. The associations between MSI2 mRNA expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with GC were analyzed, and the effect of MSI2 on the prognosis of patients with GC was verified. The biological functions of MSI2 in GC cells were assessed using gain-of-function assays in vitro. The results revealed that MSI2 was overexpressed in the majority of GC tissue samples, although this difference was not significant. MSI2 mRNA expression levels were associated with invasion depth, tumor-node-metastasis stage, degree of differentiation and tumor size (P<0.05), but were not associated with sex, age, tumor location or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression. Increased MSI2 expression resulted in a poorer prognosis in patients with GC (χ²=4.221; P=0.040). In vitro assays revealed that MSI2 promoted MKN-28 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and promoted tube formation in HUVECs. Although no significance of MSI2 expression was found, its oncogenic functions in the GC cell line indicated that MSI2 may be a potential oncogene that may serve as a biomarker for GC diagnosis and prognosis with verification from a larger sample and more GC cell lines.

Pseudogenes in gastric cancer pathogenesis: a review article

Cancer burden rises globally at an alarming pace. According to GLOBOCAN 2012, gastric cancer (GC) is regarded as the fifth most common malignancy in the world. Being twice as high in men as in women, GC is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in both sexes globally. Being labeled as 'junk DNA', pseudogenes were considered as nonfunctional 'trash', which contribute nothing to survival of the organism; therefore, a number of strategies have been developed to circumvent their accidental detection. Recent progresses have confirmed that pseudogenes can have broad and multifaceted spectrum of activities in human cancers in general and GC in particular. Furthermore, the mentioned functions are parental gene-dependent and/or -independent. Therefore, pseudogenes can be regarded as the emerging class of elaborate modulators of gene expression involved in pathogenesis of human cancers including gastric adenocarcinoma.

Gene Expression Analysis of Two Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition-related Genes: Long Noncoding RNA-ATB and SETD8 in Gastric Cancer Tissues

Background

Cancer is the second cause of death after cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Tumor metastasis is the main cause of death in patients with cancer; therefore, unraveling the molecular mechanisms involved in metastasis is critical. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is believed to promote tumor metastasis. Based on the critical roles of long noncoding RNA-ATB (lncRNA-ATB) and SETD8 genes in cancer pathogenesis and EMT, in this study, we aimed to assess expression profile and clinicopathological relevance of these two genes in human gastric cancer.

Materials and Methods

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to assess these gene expressions in gastric cancer tissues and various cell lines. The associations between these gene expressions and clinicopathological characteristics were also analyzed.

Results

Insignificant downregulation of lncRNA-ATB and significant upregulation of SETD8 in cancerous versus noncancerous gastric tissues were observed. Among different examined cell lines, all displayed both genes expression. Except for a significant inverse correlation between the expression levels of lncRNA-ATB and depth of invasion (T) and a direct association between SETD8 levels and advanced tumor grades, no significant association was found with other clinicopathological characteristics.

Conclusion

lncRNA-ATB and SETD8 genes may play a critical role in gastric cancer progression and may serve as potential diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers in cancer patients.

Musashi-2 is a prognostic marker for the survival of patients with cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies. Mousasi 2 (Msi2) is a RNA-binding protein that regulates various key cellular functions and has emerged as a crucial regulator of cancer development. However, the clinical significance and biological functions of Msi2 in cervical cancer remain unknown. The current study assessed the expression of Msi2 mRNA using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, the expression of Msi2 was examined in 162 cervical cancer samples using immunohistochemistry and the association between Msi2 expression and patient clinicopathological features was analyzed. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis was performed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of Msi2 expression. In vitro migration and invasion assays were performed in Sinha and Caskie cells. The results demonstrated that, compared with normal cervical tissues, the expression of Msi2 was increased in cervical cancer tissues. The expression of Msi2 was significantly correlated with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (P=0.049) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.036). Furthermore, patients with higher Msi2 expression exhibited significantly poorer OS (P=0.013) and PFS (P=0.006) than patients with low Msi2 expression. Notably, high Msi2 expression was correlated with poorer OS in patients with a FIGO stage ≤I (P=0.015), a smaller tumor size (P=0.043) and grade 3 tumor (P=0.002). High Msi2 expression was also correlated with a poorer PFS in patients with a FIGO stage ≤I (P=0.016) and grade 3 tumor (P=0.001). Multivariate analysis suggested that Msi2 expression was an independent prognostic marker of the OS (P=0.027) and PFS (P=0.013) of patients with cervical cancer. Furthermore, Msi2 knockdown significantly (P<0.05) inhibited the invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells. The results of the current study demonstrate that Msi2 may act as a prognostic biomarker in patients with cervical cancer. Targeting Msi2 may therefore offer a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with cervical cancer.

Aberrant expression of PlncRNA-1 and TUG1: potential biomarkers for gastric cancer diagnosis and clinically monitoring cancer progression

Aim: To evaluate PlncRNA-1, TUG1 and FAM83H-AS1 gene expression and their possible role as a biomarker in gastric cancer (GC) progression. Patients & methods: Long noncoding RNA expressions and clinicopathological characteristics were assessed in 70 paired GC tissues. Furthermore, corresponding data from 318 GC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Results: Expression of PlncRNA-1 and TUG1 were significantly upregulated in GC tumoral tissues, and significantly correlated with clinicopathological characters. However, FAM83H-AS1 showed no consistently differential expression. The expression of these three long noncoding RNAs was significantly higher in The Cancer Genome Atlas tumoral tissues. Conclusion: In conclusion, PlncRNA-1 and TUG1 genes may play a critical role in GC progression and may serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers in GC patients.

Cancer stem cell research in Iran: potentials and challenges

Treatment modalities can reduce cancer-related mortality; however, a majority of patients develop drug resistance, metastasis and relapse. It has been proposed that tumorigenic characteristics of tumors are related to a proportion of cancer cells, termed cancer stem cells (CSCs). Following the first evidence regarding the existence of CSC population in acute myeloid leukemia in 1997, publications in CSCs field showed an explosive trend in all cancer types around the world. First research paper in the field of CSCs in Iran was published in 2004 on prostate cancer. Subsequently, an annual number of publications in the field of CSCs displayed a rapidly growing trend. Therefore, in the current review, we have presented a comprehensive evaluation of the CSCs research in Iran.

Cooperation of Musashi-2, Numb, MDM2, and P53 in drug resistance and malignant biology of pancreatic cancer

Our earlier work showed that Musashi (MSI)-2 promoted the development of pancreatic cancer (PC) by down-regulating Numb, which prevented murine double-minute (MDM)-2-mediated p53 ubiquitin degradation. Thus, we investigate the relationship among MSI2, Numb, MDM2, and p53 in PC in vitro and invivo, an association that has not been reported to our knowledge. MSI2 had no relationship with mutant p53 (mtp53) and wild-type p53 (wtp53) in normal PC cells. However, in response to gemcitabine or cisplatin treatment, MSI2 silencing simultaneously down-regulated MDM2 and up-regulated Numb and wtp53 protein levels. Moreover, these 4 endogenous proteins can be coimmunoprecipitated as a quaternary complex. Numb small interfering RNA (siRNA) reversed the MSI2 silencing-induced p53 increase. During treatment with chemical agents, MSI2 silencing decreased drug resistance and cell motility in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo, all of which were significantly reversed by p53 siRNA. MSI2 was also negatively associated with Numb and positively associated with MDM2 expression in tissue. Overexpression of MSI2, MDM2, and mtp53 and weak expression of Numb were closely associated with aggressive clinicopathologic characteristics and poor prognosis for patients with PC. MSI2 negatively regulates wtp53 protein by up-regulating MDM2 and down-regulating Numb after treatment with chemical agents. MSI2 promotes drug resistance and malignant biology of PC in a p53-dependent manner.-Sheng, W., Dong, M., Chen, C., Wang, Z., Li, Y., Wang, K., Li, Y., Zhou, J. Cooperation of Musashi-2, Numb, MDM2, and P53 in drug resistance and malignant biology of pancreatic cancer.

Musashi2 promotes the development and progression of pancreatic cancer by down-regulating Numb protein

Musashi2-Numb interaction plays a vital role in the progression of myeloid leukemia. However, its potential role in solid cancers has rarely been reported. We investigated the coordinate function of Musashi2-Numb in the development of pancreatic cancer (PC) in vitro and vivo. Both Musashi2 protein and mRNA levels were higher in PC tissues than that in paired normal pancreas (P<0.05). Musashi2 overexpression and Numb positive expression were positively and negatively associated with tumor size and UICC stage, respectively (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis identified Musashi2 and Numb as adverse and favorable independent indicators for the survival of PC patients. Moreover, patients with high Musashi2 expression combining with negative Numb expression had a significantly worse overall survival (P=0.001). The negative relationship between Musashi2 and Numb was found at both PC tissue and cell levels. These two endogenous proteins can be co-immunoprecipitated from PC cell lines, and Musashi2 silence up-regulated Numb protein in vitro and vivo. Meanwhile, its silence decreased cell invasion and migration in vitro and inhibited the growth of subcutaneous tumors and the frequency of liver metastasis in vivo. However, Numb knockdown significantly reversed the decrease of cell invasion and migration induced by Musashi2 silence. Musashi2 promotes the development and progression of pancreatic cancer by down-regulating Numb protein. The interaction of Musashi2-Numb plays a significant role in the development and progression of PC.

The functional relevance of somatic synonymous mutations in melanoma and other cancers

Recent technological advances in sequencing have flooded the field of cancer research with knowledge about somatic mutations for many different cancer types. Most cancer genomics studies focus on mutations that alter the amino acid sequence, ignoring the potential impact of synonymous mutations. However, accumulating experimental evidence has demonstrated clear consequences for gene function, leading to a widespread recognition of the functional role of synonymous mutations and their causal connection to various diseases. Here, we review the evidence supporting the direct impact of synonymous mutations on gene function via gene splicing; mRNA stability, folding, and translation; protein folding; and miRNA-based regulation of expression. These results highlight the functional contribution of synonymous mutations to oncogenesis and the need to further investigate their detection and prioritization for experimental assessment.

The Novel KLF4/MSI2 Signaling Pathway Regulates Growth and Metastasis of Pancreatic Cancer

PURPOSE

Musashi 2 (MSI2) is reported to be a potential oncoprotein in cases of leukemia and several solid tumors. However, its expression, function, and regulation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cases have yet to be demonstrated. Therefore, in the current study, we investigated the clinical significance and biologic effects of MSI2 expression in PDAC cases and sought to delineate the clinical significance of the newly identified Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4)/MSI2 regulatory pathway.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

MSI2 expression and its association with multiple clinicopathologic characteristics in human PDAC specimens were analyzed immunohistochemically. The biological functions of MSI2 regarding PDAC cell growth, migration, invasion, and metastasis were studied using gain- and loss-of-function assays both in vitro and in vivo Regulation of MSI2 expression by KLF4 was examined in several cancer cell lines, and the underlying mechanisms were studied using molecular biologic methods.

RESULTS

MSI2 expression was markedly increased in both PDAC cell lines and human PDAC specimens, and high MSI2 expression was associated with poor prognosis for PDAC. Forced MSI2 expression promoted PDAC proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and growth and metastasis in vivo, whereas knockdown of MSI2 expression did the opposite. Transcriptional inhibition of MSI2 expression by KLF4 occurred in multiple PDAC cell lines as well as mouse models of PDAC.

CONCLUSIONS

Lost expression of KLF4, a transcriptional repressor of MSI2 results in overexpression of MSI2 in PDACs, which may be a biomarker for accurate prognosis. A dysregulated KLF4/MSI2 signaling pathway promotes PDAC progression and metastasis. Clin Cancer Res; 23(3); 687-96. ©2016 AACR.