Identification of novel alternative transcripts of the human Ribonuclease κ (RNASEK) gene using 3′ RACE and high-throughput sequencing approaches

Knowledge mapping of alternative splicing of cancer from 2012 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis

Background

As a processing method of RNA precursors, alternative splicing (AS) is critical to normal cellular activities. Aberrant AS events are associated with cancer development and can be promising targets to treat cancer. However, no detailed and unbiased study describes the current state of AS of cancer research. We aim to measure and recognize the current state and trends of AS cancer research in this study.

Methods

The Web of Science Core Collection was used to acquire the articles. Utilizing three bibliometric tools (CiteSpace, VOSviewer, R-bibliometrix), we were able to measure and recognize the influence and collaboration data of individual articles, journals, and co-citations. Analysis of co-occurrence and burst information helped us identify the trending research areas related to AS of cancer.

Results

From 2012 to 2021, the total number of papers on AS of cancer published in 766 academic journals was 3,507, authored by 20,406 researchers in 405 institutions from 80 countries/regions. Research involving AS of cancer genes was primarily conducted in the United States and China; simultaneously, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fudan University, and National Cancer Institute were the institutions with strong research capabilities. Scorilas Andreas is the scholar with the most publications, while the most co-citations were generated by Wang, Eric T. Plos One published the most papers on AS of cancer, while J Biol Chem was the most co-cited academic journal in this field. The results of keyword co-occurrence analysis can be divided into three types: molecular (P53, CD44, androgen receptor, srsf3, esrp1), pathological process (apoptosis, EMT, metastasis, angiogenesis, proliferation), and disease (breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer).

Conclusion

Research on AS of cancer has been increasing in intensity over the past decade. Current AS of cancer studies focused on the hallmarks of AS in cancer and AS signatures including diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Among them, the current trends are splicing factors regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition and other hallmarks, aberrant splicing events in tumors, and further mechanisms. These might give researchers interested in this field a forward-looking perspective and inform further research.

Low expression of miR-20b-5p indicates favorable prognosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, especially in patients with non-infiltrated regional lymph nodes

PURPOSE

Tumor recurrence and distant metastasis are very common in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). In this study, we examined the potential prognostic value of microRNA-20b-5p (miR-20b-5p), a component of the tumor-related miR-106a/363 cluster.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Total RNA was purified from 105 tissue specimens resected from patients having undergone surgical treatment for primary LSCC. After in vitro polyadenylation and reverse transcription, a sensitive real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methodology was applied for the relative quantification of miR-20b-5p levels. Then, we proceeded with biostatistical analysis, seeking to assess the prognostic value of miR-20b-5p expression in LSCC.

RESULTS

miR-20b-5p positivity constitutes a predictor of inferior DFS and OS in LSCC (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). The significant prognostic value of miR-20b-5p expression status seems to be independent of tumor size, histological grade, and TNM stage, as revealed by the multivariate bootstrap Cox regression analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed also that miR-20b-5p expression status can stratify LSCC patients with non-infiltrated regional lymph nodes (N0) into two subgroups with distinct prognosis (P = 0.004 and P = 0.004, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The miR-20b-5p expression status is a promising molecular tissue biomarker in LSCC, with an independent prognostic value, and thus merits further validation in larger cohorts of patients.