MiR-96 enhances cellular proliferation and tumorigenicity of human cervical carcinoma cells through PTPN9

miRNAs that regulate apoptosis in breast cancer and cervical cancer

In today's world, one of the main problems is cancer, which still has a long way to go to cure it, and it brings a lot of financial and emotional costs to the people of society and governments. Breast cancer (BC) and cervical cancer (CC), two of the most common cancers, are caused by several genetic and environmental factors in women. These two cancers' involvement rate is higher than other cancers in women. microRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules with a length of 18 to 24 nucleotides, which play an important role in post-translational changes. miRNAs themselves are divided into two categories, oncomiRs and tumor suppressors. OncomiRs have a part in tumor expansion and tumor suppressors prevent tumor development and progress. miRNAs can control cellular processes by regulating various pathways including autophagy, apoptosis, and signaling. Apoptosis is a type of programmed cell death that includes intrinsic and extrinsic pathways and is different from other cell death pathways such as necrosis and ferroptosis. Apoptosis controls the growth, differentiation, and death of cells by regulating the death of damaged and old cells, and since miRNAs are one of the factors that regulate apoptosis, and divided into two categories: pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic. We decided in this study to investigate the relationship between miRNAs and apoptosis in the most common women's cancers, BC and CC.

Critical roles of PTPN family members regulated by non-coding RNAs in tumorigenesis and immunotherapy

Since tyrosine phosphorylation is reversible and dynamic in vivo, the phosphorylation state of proteins is controlled by the opposing roles of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPs), both of which perform critical roles in signal transduction. Of these, intracellular non-receptor PTPs (PTPNs), which belong to the largest class I cysteine PTP family, are essential for the regulation of a variety of biological processes, including but not limited to hematopoiesis, inflammatory response, immune system, and glucose homeostasis. Additionally, a substantial amount of PTPNs have been identified to hold crucial roles in tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance, and inhibitors of PTPNs have promising applications due to striking efficacy in antitumor therapy. Hence, the aim of this review is to summarize the role played by PTPNs, including PTPN1/PTP1B, PTPN2/TC-PTP, PTPN3/PTP-H1, PTPN4/PTPMEG, PTPN6/SHP-1, PTPN9/PTPMEG2, PTPN11/SHP-2, PTPN12/PTP-PEST, PTPN13/PTPL1, PTPN14/PEZ, PTPN18/PTP-HSCF, PTPN22/LYP, and PTPN23/HD-PTP, in human cancer and immunotherapy and to comprehensively describe the molecular pathways in which they are implicated. Given the specific roles of PTPNs, identifying potential regulators of PTPNs is significant for understanding the mechanisms of antitumor therapy. Consequently, this work also provides a review on the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in regulating PTPNs in tumorigenesis and progression, which may help us to find effective therapeutic agents for tumor therapy.

MicroRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network Mediates Activation of mTOR and VEGF Signaling in African American Prostate Cancer

African American (AA) men exhibit 1.6-fold higher prostate cancer (PCa) incidence and 2.4-fold higher mortality rates compared to European American (EA) men. In addition to socioeconomic factors, emerging evidence suggests that intrinsic biological differences may explain part of PCa disparities. In this study, we applied microRNA (miRNA)-driven bioinformatics to evaluate whether differential miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks play a role in promoting the AA PCa disparities. 10 differentially expressed miRNAs were imported to mirPath V.3 algorithm, leading to identification of 58 signaling pathways differentially regulated in AA PCa versus EA PCa. Among these pathways, we particularly focused on mTOR and VEGF signaling, where we identified 5 reciprocal miRNA-mRNA pairings: miR-34a-5p/HIF1A, miR-34a-5p/PIK3CB, miR-34a-5p/IGFBP2, miR-99b-5p/MTOR and miR-96-5p/MAPKAPK2 in AA PCa versus EA PCa. RT-qPCR validation confirmed that miR-34a-5p, miR-99b-5p and MAPKAPK2 were downregulated, while miR-96-5p, IGFBP2, HIF1A, PIK3CB and MTOR were upregulated in AA PCa versus EA PCa cells. Transfection of miRNA mimics/antagomir followed by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis further verified that IGFBP2, HIF1A and PIK3CB are negatively regulated by miR-34a-5p, whereas MTOR and MAPKAPK2 are negatively regulated by miR-99b-5p and miR-96-5p, respectively, at mRNA and protein levels. Targeting reciprocal pairings by miR-34a-5p mimic, miR-99b-5p mimic or miR-96-5p antagomir downregulates HIF1α, PI3Kβ, mTOR, IGFBP2 but upregulates MAPKAPK2, subsequently reducing cell proliferation and sensitizing docetaxel-induced cytotoxicity in PCa cells. These results suggest that miRNA-mRNA regulatory network plays a critical role in AA PCa disparities, and targeting these core miRNA-mRNA pairings may reduce PCa aggressiveness and overcome the chemoresistance in AA patients.

CircMMD_007 promotes oncogenic effects in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma through microRNA-197-3p/protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 9 axis

Circular RNAs play important roles in cancer biology. In this research, we explored the underlying function and mechanism of cirMMD_007 in lung adenocarcinoma (LC). Clinical lung adenocarcinoma samples were obtained from surgery. Bioinformatic databases were used to predict miRNAs that can potentially target circRNAs and miRNA target genes. hsa_circMMD_007, miR-197-3p, and PTPN9 mRNA expressions were investigated by qRT-PCR. Protein expressions were examined using Western blot. The proliferation abilities were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. Wound healing cell migration assay was applied to evaluate cell migration ability. Luciferase reporter assay and rescue experiments were then performed to elucidate the underlying mechanism. We found that the expression of circMMD_007 was abnormally increased in LC. The expression of circMMD_007 was higher in advanced stages. Knockout of circMMD_007 hindered the tumorigenesis of LC in vivo and in vitro. circMMD_007 could negatively regulate the expression of miR-197-3p. PTPN9 behaved to be a molecular target of miR-197-3p. In summary, this research demonstrated that circular RNA circMMD_007 could promote the oncogenic effects in the progression of LC through miR-197-3p/PTPN9 axis.

MicroRNA-96: A therapeutic and diagnostic tumor marker

Cancer has been always considered as one of the main human health challenges worldwide. One of the main causes of cancer-related mortality is late diagnosis in the advanced stages of the disease, which reduces the therapeutic efficiency. Therefore, novel non-invasive diagnostic methods are required for the early detection of tumors and improving the quality of life and survival in cancer patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have pivotal roles in various cellular processes such as cell proliferation, motility, and neoplastic transformation. Since circulating miRNAs have high stability in body fluids, they can be suggested as efficient noninvasive tumor markers. MiR-96 belongs to the miR-183-96-182 cluster that regulates cell migration and tumor progression as an oncogene or tumor suppressor by targeting various genes in solid tumors. In the present review, we have summarized all of the studies that assessed the role of miR-96 during tumor progression. This review clarifies the molecular mechanisms and target genes recruited by miR-96 to regulate tumor progression and metastasis. It was observed that miR-96 mainly affects tumorigenesis by targeting the structural proteins and FOXO transcription factors.

MiR-96 promotes myocardial infarction-induced apoptosis by targeting XIAP

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has becoming a common leading cause of sudden death worldwide. MiR-96 has been identified that can target anti-apoptotic related genes in various human diseases. However, its role in AMI remains unclear. In this study, we found that miR-96 was significantly upregulated in the ischemic heart of MI mice (mice with myocardial infarction) and also in the H₂O₂-treated neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (CMs). In response H₂O₂, miR-96 inhibitor could significantly promote cell viability and reduce cell apoptosis of CMs, and inhibit the expression of Cleaved caspase-3 and Bax, while promote Bcl-2 expression. In addition, downregulation of miR-96 remarkedly reduced the infarct size and the percentages of apoptotic cells in the heart tissues of MI mice, and then protected against the damaged cardiac function. Moreover, we identified that XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis) acted as a direct target gene of miR-96, meanwhile si-XIAP could obviously reverse miR-96 inhibitor induced protective effect in H₂O₂-treated CMs Taken together, our study demonstrated that miR-96 promoted AMI progression by directly targeting XIAP, and inhibiting the anti-apoptotic function of XIAP (Graphical abstract), which provided a novel therapeutic target for AMI treatment.

Apigenin suppresses proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical carcinoma cells by regulation of miR-152/BRD4 axis

The present study aimed to investigate the role of apigenin and the molecular mechanism of miR-152-5p and bromodomain containing 4 (BRD4) in the proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cervical carcinoma cells. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the transfection efficiency and the expression of miR-152-5p and BRD4. Western blotting was conducted to evaluate the protein level of BRD4, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and MMP9. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm whether miR-152-5p bound to BRD4. MTT and Transwell invasion assay were applied to determine the cell proliferation and invasion, respectively. MiR-152-5p was downregulated and BRD4 was upregulated in cervical carcinoma tissue. Besides, miR-152-5p could directly bind to BRD4 in Hela and CaSki cells. In addition, apigenin inhibited proliferation, invasion, and EMT of Hela and CaSki cells by regulating miR-152-5p/BRD4 axis. Apigenin suppresses proliferation, invasion, and induced EMT of cervical carcinoma cells by regulation of miR-152-5p/BRD4 axis.

The roles of microRNA in human cervical cancer

Although a potentially preventable disease, cervical cancer (CC) is the second most commonly diagnosed gynaecological cancer with at least 530,000 new cases annually, and the prognosis with CC is still poor. Studies suggest that aberrant expression of microRNA (miRNA) contributes to the progression of CC. As a group of small non-coding RNA with 18-25 nucleotides, miRNA regulate about one-third of all human genes. They function by repressing translation or inducing mRNA cleavage or degradation, including genes involved in diverse and important cellular processes, including cell cycling, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Results showed that misexpression of miRNA is closely related to the onset and progression of CC. This review will provide an overview of the function of miRNA in CC and the mechanisms involved in cervical carcinogenesis.

miR‑96 exerts an oncogenic role in the progression of cervical cancer by targeting CAV‑1

Cervical cancer is the 4th most common malignant tumor type affecting women worldwide; however, its molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Previous studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRs) serve crucial roles in the cellular functions of tumors. miR‑96 is involved in the tumorigenesis of many cancer types. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role and mechanism of miR‑96 in the progression of cervical cancer. The present results suggested that overexpression of miR‑96 significantly enhanced the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of cervical cancer cells, while inhibiting miR‑96 had the opposite effects. Additionally, activation of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was enhanced by miR‑96 overexpression, while it was inhibited by the miR‑96 inhibitor. Moreover, it was identified that miR‑96 may directly target caveolin‑1 (CAV‑1) to decrease its expression level. Furthermore, overexpression of CAV‑1 could reverse the increase in cell proliferation, migration and invasion induced by miR‑96, as well as the upregulation of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. In conclusion, the present results suggested that miR‑96 may have an oncogenic role in the progression of cervical cancer by targeting CAV‑1. Therefore, miR‑96 may be a potential target for cervical cancer therapy.

MiR-96-5p promotes breast cancer migration by activating MEK/ERK signaling

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the potential role of miR-96-5p in breast cancer.

METHODS

Breast cancer tissues and matched para-cancerous tissues were collected. The expression of microRNA-96-5p (miR-96-5p) and arginine kinase 3 (AK3) was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The correlation between miR-96-5p and AK3 was calculated by Pearson's Chi-square test. Moreover, mimics or inhibitors of miR-96-5p were applied to explore whether miR-96-5p influences the migration capacity in Transwell and wound healing assays. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the target genes of miR-96-5p through the TargetScan, miRDB and miRanda databases. A luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify AK3 as a downstream target gene of miR-96-5p.

RESULTS

The expression of miR-96-5p was significantly increased in breast cancer tissue and breast cancer cell lines compared with para-cancerous tissue and a breast cell line, respectively. The expression of miR-96-5p negatively correlated with AK3 gene expression. AK3 was demonstrated to be a direct mRNA target of miR-96-5p. AK3 was positively associated with the overall survival of breast cancer patients. Kaplan-Meier curve and log rank test analyses revealed that decreased AK3 levels were significantly associated with reduced overall survival. miR-96-5p was shown to promote the migration of breast cancer cells through the MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION

Our results identify a role for miR-96-5p in promoting breast cancer cell migration through activation of MEK/ERK signaling by targeting AK3.

Overexpression of microRNA-96 is associated with poor prognosis and promotes proliferation, migration and invasion in cholangiocarcinoma cells via MTSS1

MicroRNA-96 (miR-96) has been revealed serve an oncogenic role in various types of cancer. However, the role of miR-96 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development and progression is yet to be elucidated. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of miR-96 in CCA. The expression pattern of miR-96 in CCA tissues and cell lines was evaluated using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses were conducted to investigate the prognostic significance of miR-96 in CCA. Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assays were performed to identify the functions of miR-96. The association between miR-96 and metastasis suppressor-1 (MTSS1) was verified using a dual-luciferase assay. The results demonstrated that miR-96 expression levels were increased in CCA tissues and cell lines compared with those in adjacent normal tissues and normal human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cell lines, respectively. High expression levels of miR-96 were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, differentiation and TNM stage. In addition, upregulated expression of miR-96 was associated with a poorer prognosis and was predicted to be a prognostic factor in patients with CCA. Overexpression of miR-96 in vitro promoted CCA cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, MTSS1 was identified as a direct target of miR-96. The results of the present study indicated the clinical and biological importance of miR-96 as an oncogene in CCA. miR-96 may represent an independent prognostic biomarker and may promote CCA cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting MTSS1.

miR-96-5p promotes the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells by suppressing Caveolae1

BACKGROUND

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the second most common gynaecological malignancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to be aberrantly expressed in OC tissue and have been proposed as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OC.

RESULTS

In this study, we found that miR-96-5p was up-regulated in OC tissues and OC cells compared to normal ovarian tissues and epithelial cell line. And, miR-96-5p was also up-regulated in the serum samples from OC patients compared to health participants. In addition, there was a positive correlation of miR-96-5p levels between OC tissues and serum samples. At the cellular level, overexpression of miR-96-5p promoted cell proliferation and migration in OC cells. Moreover, we further validated Caveolae1 (CAV1) as the direct target of miR-96-5p in OC cells through luciferase activity assays and western blot. CAV1 was obvious low expression in OC tissues. The overexpression of CAV1 abrogated the promotion of miR-96-5p on the OC cells proliferation and migration. Finally, we found that AKT signaling pathway was involved in this process. MiR-96-5p inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT and expression of down-stream proteins Cyclin D1 and P70 by targeting CAV1.

CONCLUSIONS

The above findings suggested that targeting miR-96-5p may be a promising strategy for OC treatment.

PTPN9 induces cell apoptosis by mitigating the activation of Stat3 and acts as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer

Background

Accumulating evidence has shown that protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are involved in regulating the transduction of many signaling pathways and play important roles in modulating the progression of some cancers, but the functions of PTPs in cancers have not been well elucidated until now. Here, we aimed to identify the roles of protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 9 (PTPN9), a cytoplasmic PTP, in the development of colorectal cancer and elucidate the regulatory mechanism involved.

Materials and methods

Cell viability assessment, colony formation assay, caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity assay, real-time PCR, and Western blot analysis were applied.

Results

Our results showed that PTPN9 expression was frequently downregulated in colorectal cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of PTPN9 mitigated cell growth and colony formation and induced cell apoptosis in colorectal cancer. Conversely, PTPN9 knockdown promoted cell growth and survival. Moreover, PTPN9 negatively regulated the activation of Stat3 and depressed its nuclear translocation in colorectal cancer. The effects of PTPN9 knockdown on cell apoptosis were attenuated by inhibition of the Stat3 pathway.

Conclusion

These results indicate that PTPN9 inhibits cell growth and survival by repressing the activation of Stat3 in colorectal cancer, which suggests an important underlying mechanism of regulating cell growth and provides a novel candidate therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.