The spindle checkpoint proteins BUB1 and BUBR1: (SLiM)ming down to the basics

Exploration of biomarkers for nursing physical examination early screening of multiple tumors

Nursing and physical examination early screening of multiple tumors is helpful to find tumors early, so as to improve the cure rate. Studying its molecular mechanisms is urgent. By logging into gene expression omnibus database, we found laryngeal cancer dataset GSE127165, bladder cancer dataset GSE65635, oral cancer dataset GSE146483, obtain differentially expressed genes, subsequently, weighted gene co-expression network analysis, protein-protein interaction networks, functional enrichment analysis, immune infiltration analysis, survival analysis, comparative toxicogenomics database analysis were conducted. Draw a heatmap of gene expression. Use targetScan to search for miRNA information about core DEG. Got 53 differentially expressed genes. In GOKEGG analysis, they were clustered in cell cycle processes, spindle poles, and protein serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase activity cell cycle, transcriptional dysregulation in cancer, RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, P53 signaling pathway. Protein-protein interaction analysis screened out 5 genes (NEK2, BUB1, HMMR, TTK, CCNB2). Cyclin B2 (CCNB2) and budding uninhibited by benzimidazole 1 (BUB1) were highly expressed in laryngeal cancer, bladder cancer, oral cancer. Comparative toxicogenomics database analysis found that core genes (CCNB2, BUB1) are associated with tumors, necrosis, and inflammation. Related miRNA of CCNB2 gene is hsa-miR-670-3p; related miRNAs of BUB1 gene are hsa-miR-5688, hsa-miR-495-3p. CCNB2 and BUB1 exhibit high expression in laryngeal cancer, bladder cancer, and oral cancer, suggesting their potential as molecular targets for precision therapy in these cancers.

Bisphenol Z exposure inhibits oocyte meiotic maturation by rupturing mitochondrial function

The use of bisphenol A (BPA) has been restricted due to its endocrine-disrupting effects. As a widely used alternative to BPA today, environmental levels of bisphenol Z (BPZ) continue to rise and accumulate in humans. Oocyte quality is critical for a successful pregnancy. Nevertheless, the toxic impacts of BPZ on the maturation of mammalian oocytes remain unexplored. Therefore, the impacts of BPZ and BPA on oocyte meiotic maturation were compared in an in vitro mouse oocyte culture model. Exposure to 150 μM of both BPZ and BPA disrupted the assembly of the meiotic spindle and the alignment of chromosomes, and BPZ exerted stronger toxicological effects than BPA. Furthermore, BPZ resulted in aberrant expression of F-actin, preventing the formation of the actin cap. Mechanistically, BPZ exposure disrupted the mitochondrial localization pattern, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP content, leading to impaired mitochondrial function. Further studies revealed that BPZ exposure resulted in oxidative stress and altered expression of genes associated with anti-oxidative stress. Moreover, BPZ induced severe DNA damage and triggered early apoptosis in oocytes, accompanied by impaired lysosomal function. Overall, the data in this study suggest that BPZ is not a safe alternative to BPA. BPZ can trigger early apoptosis by affecting mitochondrial function and causing oxidative stress and DNA damage in oocytes. These processes disrupt cytoskeletal assembly, arrest the cell cycle, and ultimately inhibit oocyte meiotic maturation.

CPA4 as a biomarker promotes the proliferation, migration and metastasis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a commonly occurring and highly aggressive urological malignancy characterized by a significant mortality rate. Current therapeutic options for advanced ccRCC are limited, necessitating the discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Carboxypeptidase A4 (CPA4) is a zinc-containing metallocarboxypeptidase with implications in various cancer types, but its role in ccRCC remains unexplored. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were utilized in order to investigate the differential expression patterns of CPA4. The expression of CPA4 in ccRCC patients was further verified using immunohistochemical (IHC) examination of 24 clinical specimens. A network of protein-protein interactions (PPI) was established, incorporating CPA4 and its genes that were expressed differentially. Functional enrichment analyses were conducted to anticipate the contribution of CPA4 in the development of ccRCC. To validate our earlier study, we conducted real-time PCR and cell functional tests on ccRCC cell lines. Our findings revealed that CPA4 is overexpressed in ccRCC, and the higher the expression of CPA4, the worse the clinical outcomes such as TNM stage, pathological stage, histological grade, etc. Moreover, patients with high CPA4 expression had worse overall survival, disease-specific survival and progress-free interval than patients with low expression. The PPI network analysis highlighted potential interactions contributing to ccRCC progression. Functional enrichment analysis indicated the involvement of CPA4 in the regulation of key pathways associated with ccRCC development. Additionally, immune infiltration analysis suggested a potential link between CPA4 expression and immune response in the tumour microenvironment. Finally, cell functional studies in ccRCC cell lines shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of CPA4 in promoting ccRCC formation. Overall, our study unveils CPA4 as a promising biomarker with prognostic potential in ccRCC. The identified interactions and pathways provide valuable insights into its implications in ccRCC development and offer a foundation for future research on targeted therapies. Further investigation of CPA4's involvement in immune responses may contribute to the development of immunotherapeutic strategies for ccRCC treatment.

Downregulation of BUBR1 regulates the proliferation and cell cycle of breast cancer cells and increases the sensitivity of cells to cisplatin

Breast cancer (BC) is a significant tissue for women's health worldwide. The spindle assembly checkpoint protein family includes BUBR1 (Bub1-related kinase or MAD3/Bub1b). High expression of BUBR1 promotes cell cycle disorders, leading to cell carcinogenesis and cancer progression. However, the underlying molecular mechanism and the role of BUBR1 in BC progression are unclear. The published dataset was analyzed to evaluate the clinical relevance of BUBR1. BUBR1 was knocked down in BC cells using shRNA. The CCK-8 assay was used to measure the cell viability, and mRNA and protein expression levels were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot (WB). Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry. Subcutaneous xenograft model was used to assess in vivo tumor growth. BUBR1 was found to be highly expressed in BC. The high expression of BUBR1 was associated with poor prognosis of BC patients. Upon BUBR1 knockdown using shRNA, the proliferation and metastatic ability of cells were decreased. Moreover, the cells with BUBR1 knockdown underwent cell cycle arrest. And the results showed that BUBR1 loss inhibited the phosphorylation of TAK1/JNK. In vitro and in vivo studies indicated the knockdown of BUBR1 rendered the BC cells more sensitive to cisplatin. In summary, BUBR1 may be a potential therapeutic target for BC and targeting BUBR1 may help overcome cisplatin resistance in BC patients.

Identification of key genes and pathways in adrenocortical carcinoma: evidence from bioinformatic analysis

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy with poor prognosis. The disease originates from the cortex of adrenal gland and lacks effective treatment. Efforts have been made to elucidate the pathogenesis of ACC, but the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. To identify key genes and pathways in ACC, the expression profiles of GSE12368, GSE90713 and GSE143383 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. After screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in each microarray dataset on the basis of cut-off, we identified 206 DEGs, consisting of 72 up-regulated and 134 down-regulated genes in three datasets. Function enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed by DAVID online database and the results revealed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in cell cycle, cell cycle process, mitotic cell cycle, response to oxygen-containing compound, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, p53 signaling pathway. The STRING database was used to construct the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and modules analysis was performed using Cytoscape. Finally, we filtered out eight hub genes, including CDK1, CCNA2, CCNB1, TOP2A, MAD2L1, BIRC5, BUB1 and AURKA. Biological process analysis showed that these hub genes were significantly enriched in nuclear division, mitosis, M phase of mitotic cell cycle and cell cycle process. Violin plot, Kaplan-Meier curve and stage plot of these hub genes confirmed the reliability of the results. In conclusion, the results in this study provided reliable key genes and pathways for ACC, which will be useful for ACC mechanisms, diagnosis and candidate targeted treatment.

Multitargeted inhibitory effect of Mitoxantrone 2HCl on cervical cancer cell cycle regulatory proteins: a multitargeted docking-based MM\GBSA and MD simulation study

Cervical cancer remains a significant global health concern that starts in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina and is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), necessitating the development of effective multitargeted effective and resistance-proof therapies. In early-stage cervical cancer may not show any symptoms, however, as the cancer progresses, some people may experience- abnormal vaginal bleeding, watery or bloody vaginal discharge, pain in the pelvis or lower back, pain during sex, and frequent and painful urination. In this study, we screened the complete FDA-approved drug library using a multitargeted inhibitory approach against four cervical cancer proteins, namely mitotic arrest deficient -2, DNA polymerase epsilon B-subunit, benzimidazole-related -1, and threonine-protein kinase-1 which crucially plays its role for the in its development process. We employed the HTVS, SP and XP algorithms for efficient filtering and screening that helped to identify Mitoxantrone 2HCl against all of them with docking and MM\GBSA scores ranging from - 11.63 to - 7.802 kcal/mol and - 74.38 to - 47.73 kcal/mol, respectively. We also evaluated the interaction patterns of each complex and the pharmacokinetics properties that helped gain insight into interactions. Subsequently, we performed multiscale MD simulations for 100 ns to understand the dynamic behaviour and stability of the Mitoxantrone 2HCl -protein complexes that revealed the formation of stable drug-protein complexes and provided insights into the molecular interactions that contribute to Mitoxantrone's inhibitory effects on these proteins and can be a better drug for cervical cancer. However, experimental studies of these findings could pave the way for therapies to combat cervical cancer effectively.

TAF1D promotes proliferation by transcriptionally activating G2/M phase-related genes in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma

High-risk neuroblastoma (HR-NB) is an aggressive childhood cancer that responds poorly to currently available therapies and is associated with only about a 50% 5-year survival rate. MYCN amplification is a critical driver of these aggressive tumors, but so far there have not been any approved treatments to effectively treat HR-NB by targeting MYCN or its downstream effectors. Thus, the identification of novel molecular targets and therapeutic strategies to treat children diagnosed with HR-NB represents an urgent unmet medical need. Here, we conducted a targeted siRNA screening and identified TATA box-binding protein-associated factor RNA polymerase I subunit D, TAF1D, as a critical regulator of the cell cycle and proliferation in HR-NB cells. Analysis of three independent primary NB cohorts determined that high TAF1D expression correlated with MYCN-amplified, high-risk disease and poor clinical outcomes. TAF1D knockdown more robustly inhibited cell proliferation in MYCN-amplified NB cells compared with MYCN-non-amplified NB cells, as well as suppressed colony formation and inhibited tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model of MYCN-amplified NB. RNA-seq analysis revealed that TAF1D knockdown downregulates the expression of genes associated with the G2/M transition, including the master cell-cycle regulator, cell-cycle-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), resulting in cell-cycle arrest at G2/M. Our findings demonstrate that TAF1D is a key oncogenic regulator of MYCN-amplified HR-NB and suggest that therapeutic targeting of TAF1D may be a viable strategy to treat HR-NB patients by blocking cell-cycle progression and the proliferation of tumor cells.

Biochemical, biophysical, and functional characterisation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase APC/C regulator CDC20 from Arabidopsis thaliana

The Anaphase Promoting Complex (APC/C), a large cullin-RING E3-type ubiquitin ligase, constitutes the ultimate target of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC), an intricate regulatory circuit that ensures the high fidelity of chromosome segregation in eukaryotic organisms by delaying the onset of anaphase until each chromosome is properly bi-oriented on the mitotic spindle. Cell-division cycle protein 20 homologue (CDC20) is a key regulator of APC/C function in mitosis. The formation of the APC/C^CDC20 complex is required for the ubiquitination and degradation of select substrates, which is necessary to maintain the mitotic state. In contrast to the roles of CDC20 in animal species, little is known about CDC20 roles in the regulation of chromosome segregation in plants. Here we address this gap in knowledge and report the expression in insect cells; the biochemical and biophysical characterisation of Arabidopsis thaliana (AtCDC20) WD40 domain; and the nuclear and cytoplasmic distribution of full-length AtCDC20 when transiently expressed in tobacco plants. We also show that most AtCDC20 degrons share a high sequence similarity to other eukaryotes, arguing in favour of conserved degron functions in AtCDC20. However, important exceptions were noted such as the lack of a canonical MAD1 binding motif; a fully conserved RRY-box in all six AtCDC20 isoforms instead of a CRY-box motif, and low conservation of key residues known to be phosphorylated by BUB1 and PLK1 in other species to ensure a robust SAC response. Taken together, our studies provide insights into AtCDC20 structure and function and the evolution of SAC signalling in plants.