FAPP2 promotes tumor cell growth in human colon cancer through activation of Wnt signaling

The role of miRNA molecules in the miscarriage process

The etiology and pathogenesis of miscarriage, which is the most common pregnancy complication, have not been fully elucidated. There is a constant search for new screening biomarkers that would allow for the early diagnosis of disorders associated with pregnancy pathology. The profiling of microRNA expression is a promising research area, which can help establish the predictive factors for pregnancy diseases. Molecules of microRNAs are involved in several processes crucial for the development and functioning of the body. These processes include cell division and differentiation, programmed cell death, blood vessel formation or tumorigenesis, and the response to oxidative stress. The microRNAs affect the number of individual proteins in the body due to their ability to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, ensuring the normal course of many cellular processes. Based on the scientific facts available, this paper presents a compendium on the role of microRNA molecules in the miscarriage process. The expression of potential microRNA molecules as early minimally invasive diagnostic biomarkers may be evaluated as early as the first weeks of pregnancy and may constitute a monitoring factor in the individual clinical care of women in early pregnancy, especially after the first miscarriage. To summarize, the described scientific data set a new direction of research in the development of preventive care and prognostic monitoring of the course of pregnancy.

Application of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology in basic research, diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer

Colon cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and its progression is accompanied by a complex array of genetic variations. CRISPR/Cas9 can identify new drug-resistant or sensitive mutations in colon cancer, and can use gene editing technology to develop new therapeutic targets and provide personalized treatments, thereby significantly improving the treatment of colon cancer patients. CRISPR/Cas9 systems are driving advances in biotechnology. RNA-directed Cas enzymes have accelerated the pace of basic research and led to clinical breakthroughs. This article reviews the rapid development of CRISPR/Cas in colon cancer, from gene editing to transcription regulation, gene knockout, genome-wide CRISPR tools, therapeutic targets, stem cell genomics, immunotherapy, metabolism-related genes and inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, the limitations and future development of CRISPR/Cas9 in colon cancer studies are reviewed. In conclusion, this article reviews the application of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology in basic research, diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer.

Genome editing and cancer: How far has research moved forward on CRISPR/Cas9?

Cancer accounted for almost ten million deaths worldwide in 2020. Metastasis, characterized by cancer cell invasion to other parts of the body, is the main cause of cancer morbidity and mortality. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of tumor formation and discovery of potential drug targets are of great importance. Gene editing techniques can be used to find novel drug targets and study molecular mechanisms. In this review, we describe how popular gene-editing methods such as CRISPR/Cas9, TALEN and ZFNs work, and, by comparing them, we demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 has superior efficiency and precision. We further provide an overview of the recent applications of CRISPR/Cas9 to cancer research, focusing on the most common cancers such as breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer. We describe how these applications will shape future research and treatment of cancer, and propose new ways to overcome current challenges.

Downregulation of FAPP2 gene induces cell autophagy and inhibits PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological malignancy. Most patients with T-ALL are treated with high-dose multi-agent chemotherapy due to limited targeted therapeutic options. To further investigate its pathogenesis and establish new therapeutic targets, we studied the role of FAPP2, a Golgi protein, that is, highly expressed in T-ALL, in the growth and function of T-ALL. We found that T-ALL cells underwent reduced cell proliferation and sub-G1 accumulation after knocking down of FAPP2 gene using shRNA systems. Instead, FAPP2 downregulation promoted cell autophagy. The level of autophagy markers, LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ, Beclin1, and ATG5, was markedly increased, whereas that of P62 decreased after FAPP2 knocking down in T-ALL cells. FAPP2 knocking down led to the accumulation of LC3 in the cytoplasm of T-ALL cells as shown by fluorescence microscopy. In addition, the level of PI(4)P and PI(3,4,5)P decreased and phosphorylation of P-AKT and P-mTOR were downregulated in FAPP2 knock-down cells. In summary, our results show that decreased expression of FAPP2 inhibited cell proliferation, resulted in the sub-G1 phase accumulation of T-ALL cells, and enhanced autophagy of T-ALL cells, likely mediated by PI(4)P, PI(3,4,5)P, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Our results provide a new insight into the pathogenesis and development of potential targeted therapy of T-ALL.

PLEKHA8P1 Promotes Tumor Progression and Indicates Poor Prognosis of Liver Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) records the second-lowest 5-year survival rate despite the avalanche of research into diagnosis and therapy. One of the major obstacles in treatment is chemoresistance to drugs such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), making identification and elucidation of chemoresistance regulators highly valuable. As the regulatory landscape grows to encompass non-coding genes such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a relatively new class of lncRNA has emerged in the form of pseudogene-derived lncRNAs. Through bioinformatics analyses of the TCGA LIHC dataset, we have systematically identified pseudogenes of prognostic value. Initial experimental validation of selected pseudogene-derived lncRNA (PLEKHA8P1) and its parental gene (PLEKHA8), a well-studied transport protein in Golgi complex recently implicated as an oncogene in both colorectal and liver cancer, indicates that the pseudogene/parental gene pair promotes tumor progression and that their dysregulated expression levels affect 5-FU-induced chemoresistance in human HCC cell line FT3-7. Our study has thus confirmed cancer-related functions of PLEKHA8, and laid the groundwork for identification and validation of oncogenic pseudogene-derived lncRNA that shows potential as a novel therapeutic target in circumventing chemoresistance induced by 5-FU.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate adaptor protein 2 accelerates the proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by enhancing Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate adaptor protein 2 (FAPP2) has been recently identified as a tumor-associated regulator that is closely related to tumorigenesis. Yet, the precise role of FAPP2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still largely unknown. This study was designed to determine the function and molecular mechanisms of FAPP2 in HCC. Elevated expression of FAPP2 commonly occurred in the tumor tissue of HCC compared with normal controls. High expression of FAPP2 was also detected in HCC cell lines and its knockdown markedly decreased the proliferation, colony formation and invasion of HCC cells. Upregulation of FAPP2 by using a FAPP2 expression vector markedly promoted the proliferation, colony formation and invasion of HCC cells. FAPP2 was found to promote the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Importantly, inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling abrogated the FAPP2 overexpression-conferred oncogenic effect in HCC cells. In addition, xenograft tumor experiments revealed that knockdown of FAPP2 significantly decreased the tumorigenicity of HCC cells in vivo. Taken together, the data of our study reported a tumor-promotion function of FAPP2 in HCC and demonstrate that knockdown of FAPP2 was capable of suppressing HCC cell proliferation and invasion through downregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. This study indicated that FAPP2 might be an attractive candidate anticancer target for HCC.

MRPS16 facilitates tumor progression via the PI3K/AKT/Snail signaling axis

Background: Although aberrant expression of MRPS16 (mitochondrial ribosomal protein S16) contributes to biological dysfunction, especially mitochondrial translation defects, the status of MRPS16 and its correlation with prognosis in tumors, especially glioma, which is a common, morbid and frequently lethal malignancy, are still controversial. Methods: Herein, we used high-throughput sequencing to identify the target molecule MRPS16. Subsequently, we detected MRPS16 protein and mRNA expression levels in normal brain tissue (NBT) and different grades of glioma tissue. The molecular effects of MRPS16 in glioma cells were tested by Western blotting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), EdU, CCK-8, colony formation, Transwell migration and invasion assays. Results: Intriguingly, we found that MRPS16 knockdown suppressed tumor cell growth, migration and invasion. Conversely, MRPS16 over-expression increased tumor cell growth, migration and invasion. In addition, subsequent mechanistic studies indicated that MRPS16 promoted glioma cell growth, migration and invasion by the activating PI3K/AKT/Snail axis. Furthermore, we observed that the decrease in tumor cell growth, migration, invasion and Snail expression mediated by MRPS16 knockdown could be rescued by Snail over-expression. Conclusion: In short, our data demonstrate that MRPS16 over-expression remarkably promotes tumor cell growth, migration and invasion via the PI3K/AKT/Snail axis, which may be a promising prognostic marker for glioma.

Sphingolipid-Transporting Proteins as Cancer Therapeutic Targets

The understanding of the role of sphingolipid metabolism in cancer has tremendously increased in the past ten years. Many tumors are characterized by imbalances in sphingolipid metabolism. In many cases, disorders of sphingolipid metabolism are also likely to cause or at least promote cancer. In this review, sphingolipid transport proteins and the processes catalyzed by them are regarded as essential components of sphingolipid metabolism. There is much to suggest that these processes are often rate-limiting steps for metabolism of individual sphingolipid species and thus represent potential target structures for pharmaceutical anticancer research. Here, we summarize empirical and biochemical data on different proteins with key roles in sphingolipid transport and their potential role in cancer.