Wild-type p53 upregulates an early onset breast cancer-associated gene GAS7 to suppress metastasis via GAS7-CYFIP1-mediated signaling pathway

Unveiling the best predictive models for early‑onset metastatic cancer: Insights and innovations (Review)

Cancer metastasis is the primary cause of cancer deaths. Metastasis involves the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumors to other body parts, commonly through lymphatic and vascular pathways. Key aspects include the high mutation rate and the capability of metastatic cells to form invasive tumors even without a large initial tumor mass. Particular emphasis is given to early metastasis, occurring in initial cancer stages and often leading to misdiagnosis, which adversely affects survival and prognosis. The present review highlighted the need for improved understanding and detection methods for early metastasis, which has not been effectively identified clinically. The present review demonstrated the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of early‑onset metastatic types of cancer, noting factors such as age, race, tumor size and location as well as the histological and pathological grade as significant predictors. In conclusion, the present review underscored the importance of early detection and management of metastatic types of cancer and called for improved predictive models, including advanced techniques such as nomograms and machine learning, so as to enhance patient outcomes, acknowledging the challenges and limitations of the current research as well as the necessity for further studies.

Integrating single-cell and bulk expression data to identify and analyze cancer prognosis-related genes

Compared with traditional evaluation methods of cancer prognosis based on tissue samples, single-cell sequencing technology can provide information on cell type heterogeneity for predicting biomarkers related to cancer prognosis. Therefore, the bulk and single-cell expression profiles of breast cancer and normal cells were comprehensively analyzed to identify malignant and non-malignant markers and construct a reliable prognosis model. We first screened highly reliable differentially expressed genes from bulk expression profiles of multiple breast cancer tissues and normal tissues, and inferred genes related to cell malignancy from single-cell data. Then we identified eight critical genes related to breast cancer to conduct Cox regression analysis, calculate polygenic risk score (PRS), and verify the predictive ability of PRS in two data groups. The results show that PRS can divide breast cancer patients into high-risk group and low-risk group. PRS is related to the overall survival time and relapse-free interval and is a prognosis factor independent of conventional clinicopathological characteristics. Breast cancer is usually regarded as a cancer with a relatively good prognosis. In order to further explore whether this workflow can be applied to cancer with poor prognosis, we selected lung cancer for a comparative study. The results show that this workflow can also build a reasonable prognosis model for lung cancer. This study provides new insight and practical source code for further research on cancer biomarkers and drug targets. It also provides basis for survival prediction, treatment response prediction, and personalized treatment.

The METTL3/miR-196a Axis Predicts Poor Prognosis in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: METTL3 accelerates m6A modification to influence cancer progression including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To illustrate the role and underlying mechanism of METTL3 mediated miR-196a upregulation in NSCLC. Method: The global level of m6A modification was detected by qPCR, western blot and immumohistochemical staining. The TCGA, GEPIA, CPTAC and TIMER databases were used to explore the expression change of METTL3, miR-196a and GAS7 in NSCLC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to analyze the prognostic value of miR-196a. NSCLC cells overexpressed or knockdown miR-196a were constructed and used for CCK8, colony formation assay, western blot and immunofluorescence in vitro. The effect of miR-196a on tumor growth was investigated in vivo. Result: We found that METTL3 mediated miR-196a were notably enhancive in NSCLC tissues and in NSCLC cells, which is markedly positively related with the serious TNM stage, the large tumor size, the distant metastasis, and the poor prognosis in patients of NSCLC. Further investigation showed that up-regulated miR-196a promoted cell viability and cell autophagy, while down-regulation of miR-196a revealed opposite results in H1299 and A549 cells. In terms of mechanism, we found that miR-196a interacted with GAS7. In addition, GAS7 expression in NSCLC patients may be positively related with the infiltration of immune cell subsets in tumor microenvironment (TME). Conclusion: The axis of METTL3-miR-196a-GAS7 might be a target for molecular targeted therapy, a potential and novel diagnostic marker for NSCLC patients.

HTRA1 expression is associated with immune-cell infiltration and survival in breast cancer

Background

High temperature requirement A1 (HTRA1), a member of the HTRA family, is a serine peptidase involved in many crucial bioprocesses such as proliferation, mitochondrial homeostasis, apoptosis, and protein quality control. It also plays an important role in the development of various tumors. However, the potential role and mechanisms of action of HTRA1 in breast cancer (BRCA) remain unclear. We conducted a bioinformatics-based study to investigate HTRA1 expression in BRCA alongside its associations with immune-cell infiltrates and survival outcomes.

Methods

The expression of HTRA1 in BRCA samples was analyzed using RNAseq datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus. R software was employed to assess the relationship between HTRA1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and immunity-associated biomarkers in BRCA. MethSurv and cBioPortal database were utilized to evaluate DNA methylation and genovariation within the HTRA1 DNA. Receiver operating characteristic curves, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox regression were performed to estimate the impact of HTRA1 on diagnosis, prognosis, and response to chemotherapy in BRCA.

Results

HTRA1 expression was significantly downregulated in BRCA tissues compared to adjacent normal breast tissue controls. Differentially expressed genes associated with HTRA1 expression primarily enriched in cell proliferation pathways. Furthermore, altered HTRA1 expression significantly correlated with patient age, tumor histological type, T stage, progesterone receptor/estrogen receptor status, and PAM50 subtype of BRCA. Both positive and negative associations were observed between HTRA1 levels and the abundance of different types of immune cells, as well as immune biomarkers, including resting mast cells, follicular helper T cells, PD-L1, p53, and Ki67. Low HTRA1 expression was related with pathological complete response in luminal B BRCA patients undergoing chemotherapy. Additionally, lower HTRA1 expression in BRCA was associated with inferior overall survival and relapse-free survival.

Conclusions

HTRA1 expression is associated with immune-cell infiltration, response to chemotherapy, and survival outcomes in BRCA. HTRA1 has the potential to serve as a promising biomarker and therapeutic target moving forward.

Gas7 attenuates hepatocellular carcinoma progression and chemoresistance through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Growth arrest-specific gene 7 (Gas7) was involved in various cellular functions, although its specific roles and molecular mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remained unclear. So the current study was to investigate the role of Gas7 in HCC. Our findings revealed that Gas7 was downregulated in various HCC cell lines and low Gas7 expression was associated with decreased overall survival in patients with HCC. Additionally, our functional assays showed that Gas7 inhibited cell proliferation and migration, induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy, and enhanced oxaliplatin sensitivity by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. We also observed that transcription factorSp1 was responsible for inhibiting Gas7. These findings provide insights into the role and elucidated a potential mechanism of Gas7 in HCC progression and metastasis. It was also observed that the Sp1/Gas7/PI3K/Akt axis was critical for malignant phenotype and oxaliplatin sensitivity in HCC. Therefore, Gas7 can be considered as a prognostic predictor and therapeutic target for HCC.

SMG: self-supervised masked graph learning for cancer gene identification

Cancer genomics is dedicated to elucidating the genes and pathways that contribute to cancer progression and development. Identifying cancer genes (CGs) associated with the initiation and progression of cancer is critical for characterization of molecular-level mechanism in cancer research. In recent years, the growing availability of high-throughput molecular data and advancements in deep learning technologies has enabled the modelling of complex interactions and topological information within genomic data. Nevertheless, because of the limited labelled data, pinpointing CGs from a multitude of potential mutations remains an exceptionally challenging task. To address this, we propose a novel deep learning framework, termed self-supervised masked graph learning (SMG), which comprises SMG reconstruction (pretext task) and task-specific fine-tuning (downstream task). In the pretext task, the nodes of multi-omic featured protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks are randomly substituted with a defined mask token. The PPI networks are then reconstructed using the graph neural network (GNN)-based autoencoder, which explores the node correlations in a self-prediction manner. In the downstream tasks, the pre-trained GNN encoder embeds the input networks into feature graphs, whereas a task-specific layer proceeds with the final prediction. To assess the performance of the proposed SMG method, benchmarking experiments are performed on three node-level tasks (identification of CGs, essential genes and healthy driver genes) and one graph-level task (identification of disease subnetwork) across eight PPI networks. Benchmarking experiments and performance comparison with existing state-of-the-art methods demonstrate the superiority of SMG on multi-omic feature engineering.

Identification of DYNLT1 associated with proliferation, relapse, and metastasis in breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant disease worldwide. Although the survival rate is improved in recent years, the prognosis is still bleak once recurrence and metastasis occur. It is vital to investigate more efficient biomarkers for predicting the metastasis and relapse of BC. DYNLT1 has been reported that participating in the progression of multiple cancers. However, there is still a lack of study about the correlation between DYNLT1 and BC.

Methods

In this study, we evaluated and validated the expression pattern and prognostic implication of DYNLT1 in BC with multiple public cohorts and BC tumor microarrays (TMAs) of paraffin-embedded tissues collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University. The response biomarkers for immune therapy, such as tumor mutational burden (TMB), between different DYNLT1 expression level BC samples were investigated using data from the TCGA-BRCA cohort utilizing public online tools. In addition, colony formation and transwell assay were conducted to verify the effects of DYNLT1 in BC cell line proliferation and invasion.

Results

The results demonstrated that DYNLT1 overexpressed in BC and predicted poor relapse-free survival in our own BC TMA cohort. In addition, DYNLT1 induced BC development by promoting MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation migration, and metastasis.

Conclusion

Altogether, our findings proposed that DYNLT1 could be a diagnostic and prognostic indicator in BC.

Genomic and transcriptomic profiling reveals key molecules in metastatic potentials and organ-tropisms of hepatocellular carcinoma

Metastasis is a landmark event for rapid postsurgical relapse and death of HCC patients. Although distinct genomic and transcriptomic profiling of HCC metastasis had been reported previously, the causal relationships of somatic mutants, mRNA levels and metastatic potentials were difficult to be established in clinic. Therefore, 11 human HCC cell lines and 7 monoclonal derivatives with definite metastatic potentials and tropisms were subjected to whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS). TP53, MYO5A, ROS1 and ARID2 were the prominent mutants of metastatic drivers in HCC cells. During HCC clonal evaluation, TP53, MYO5A and ROS1 mutations occurred in the early stage, EXT2 and NIN in the late stage. NF1 mutant was unique in lung tropistic cell lines, RNF126 mutant in lymphatic tropistic ones. PER1, LMO2, GAS7, NR4A3 expression levels were positively associated with relapse-free survival (RFS) of HCC patients. The integrative analysis revealed 58 genes exhibited both somatic mutation and dysregulated mRNA levels in high metastatic cells. Altogether, metastatic drivers could accumulate gradually at different stages during HCC progression, some drivers might modulate HCC metastatic potentials and the others regulate metastatic tropisms.

Expression pattern, tumor immune landscape, and prognostic value of N7‑methylguanosine regulators in bladder urothelial carcinoma

N7-Methylguanosine (m7G) modification is important in post-transcriptional regulation. dysregulation of m7G RNA modification has been reported to be markedly associated with cancer. However, its importance in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) remains poorly characterized. The present study systematically analyzed mRNA gene expression data and clinical information from The Cancer Genome Atlas and further constructed robust risk signatures for the four regulators of m7G RNA modification (nudix hydrolase 11, gem nuclear organelle-associated protein 5, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit D and cytoplasmic FMR1 interacting protein 1). The differential expression and cell function of m7G-related genes in bladder cancer cells were verified by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. The four-gene-based model could accurately predict the prognosis of BLCA. Nomogram-based clinical decisions had a higher net benefit compared with that of individual predictors. Through immune infiltration analysis, it was found that immune cell infiltration affected the prognosis of patients with BLCA. Finally, the present study identified potential therapeutics that differ between high and low-risk groups based on four genes. In summary, the current findings revealed an essential role for m7G RNA modification regulators in BLCA, and developed risk signatures as promising prognostic markers in patients with BLCA.

Tp53 haploinsufficiency is involved in hotspot mutations and cytoskeletal remodeling in gefitinib-induced drug-resistant EGFRL858R-lung cancer mice

Tumor heterogeneity is the major factor for inducing drug resistance. p53 is the major defender to maintain genomic stability, which is a high proportion mutated in most of the cancer types. In this study, we established in vivo animal models of gefitinib-induced drug-resistant lung cancer containing EGFR^L858R and EGFR^L858R*Tp53^+/- mice to explore the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance by studying the genomic integrity and global gene expression. The cellular morphology of the lung tumors between gefitinib-induced drug-resistant mice and drug-sensitive mice were very different. In addition, in drug-resistant mice, the expression of many cytoskeleton-related genes were changed, accompanied by decreased amounts of actin filaments and increased amounts of microtubule, indicating that significant cytoskeletal remodeling is induced in gefitinib-induced drug-resistant EGFR^L858R and EGFR^L858R*Tp53^+/- lung cancer mice. The gene expression profiles and involved pathways were different in gefitinib-sensitive, gefitinib-resistant and Tp53^+/--mice. Increases in drug resistance and nuclear size (N/C ratio) were found in EGFR^L858R*Tp53^+/- drug-resistant mice. Mutational hotspot regions for drug resistance via Tp53^+/+- and Tp53^+/--mediated pathways are located on chromosome 1 and chromosome 11, respectively, and are related to prognosis of lung cancer cohorts. This study not only builds up a gefitinib-induced drug-resistant EGFR^L858R lung cancer animal model, but also provides a novel mutation profile in a Tp53^+/+- or Tp53^+/--mediated manner and induced cytoskeleton remodeling during drug resistance, which could contribute to the prevention of drug resistance during cancer therapy.

Transcriptomic profiles-based approach to decode the role of miR-122 in triple negative breast cancer

miR-122 has been considered both as tumor suppressor miRNA and oncomiR in breast tumor phenotypes. However, the role of miR-122 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is still unknown. In this study, the clinical value of miR-122 was used to describe the transcriptomic landscape of TNBC tumors obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Low expression levels of miR-122 were associated with poor overall survival (OS) of TNBC patients than those with higher expression levels of miR-122. We identified gene expression profiles in TNBC tumors expressed lower or higher miR-122. Gene coexpression networks analysis revealed gene modules and hub genes specific to TNBC tumors with low or high miR-122 levels. Gene ontology and KEGG pathways analysis revealed that gene modules in TNBC with gain of miR-122 were related to cell cycle and DNA repair, while in TNBC with loss of miR-122 were enriched in cell cycle, proliferation, apoptosis and activation of cell migration and invasion. The expression of hub genes distinguished TNBC tumors with gain or loss of miR-122 from normal breast tissues. Furthermore, high levels of hub genes were associated with better OS in TNBC patients. Interestingly, the gene coexpression network related to loss of miR-122 were enriched with target genes of miR-122, but this did not observed in those with gain of miR-122. Target genes of miR-122 are oncogenes mainly associated with cell differentiation-related processes. Finally, 75 genes were identified exclusively associated to loss of miR-122, which are also implicated in cell differentiation. In conclusion, miR-122 could act as tumor suppressor by controlling oncogenes in TNBC.

SH3BP1 Regulates Melanoma Progression Through Race1/Wace2 Signaling Pathway

Background

SH3-domain binding protein-1 (SH3BP1), which specifically inactivates Rac1 and its target protein Wave2, has been shown to be an important regulator of cancer metastasis. However, the effects of SH3BP1 in melanoma progression remain unclear. The current study aimed to explore the function of SH3BP1 in melanoma and its possible molecular mechanism.

Methods

TCGA database was used to analyze the expression of SH3BP1 in melanoma. Then, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression of SH3BP1 in melanoma tissues and cells. Next, genes related to SH3BP1 were analyzed by LinkedOmics database, and protein interactions were analyzed by STRING database. These genes were further subjected to Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis. In addition, the signaling pathway of SH3BP1 action was screened by bioinformatics analysis. Finally, the function of SH3BP1 and its mediated signaling pathway in melanoma progression were investigated in vitro and in vivo.

Results

SH3BP1 was significantly upregulated in melanoma tissues and cells. The pathways regulated by SH3BP1 are closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. And we found that overexpression of SH3BP1 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of melanoma cells by increasing Rac1 activity and Wave2 protein levels in vitro. Similarly, overexpression of SH3BP1 facilitated melanoma progression by upregulating Wave2 protein expression in vivo.

Conclusion

In summary, this study revealed for the first time that SH3BP1 promoted melanoma progression through Rac1/Wave2 signaling pathway, providing a new therapeutic target for melanoma.

Immunoglobulin superfamily 9 (IGSF9) is trans-activated by p53, inhibits breast cancer metastasis via FAK

Metastasis of breast cancer represents the major reason for its poor prognosis, leading to high mortality. In breast cancer, a tumor suppressor gene TP53 is commonly mutated. TP53 mutation leads to an altered expression of various genes, an event that is associated with aggressive tumor and is a strong independent marker for survival. In this study, we identified a novel p53 target gene, immunoglobulin superfamily 9 (IGSF9). IGSF9 is generally down-regulated in breast cancer tissues. Loss of IGSF9 is associated with frequent metastasis and poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. Wild-type p53, but not R175H mutant, trans-activates the transcription of IGSF9 via binding to its promoter (−137 to −131 bp), inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), consequently the inhibition of breast cancer cells migration and invasion. IGSF9 interacts with focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and inhibits FAK/AKT signaling activity. PND1186, FAK inhibitor, inhibits breast cancer metastasis induced by IGSF9 knockdown in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, IGSF9 is trans-activated by p53 and inhibits breast cancer metastasis by modulating FAK/AKT signaling pathway. IGSF9 could serve as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Genetics: Diagnostics and Treatment

Breast cancer (BC) genetics has become a fundamental aspect of BC management [...]

Characterization of Lactate Metabolism Score in Breast and Thyroid Cancers to Assist Immunotherapy via Large-Scale Transcriptomic Data Analysis

Breast cancer (BC) and thyroid cancer (TC) have the highest rate of incidence, especially in women. Previous studies have revealed that lactate provides energetic and anabolic support to cancer cells, thus serving as an important oncometabolite with both extracellular and intracellular signaling functions. However, the correlation of lactate metabolism scores with thyroid and breast cancer immune characteristics remains to be systematically analyzed. To investigate the role of lactate at the transcriptome level and its correlation with the clinical outcome of BC and TC, transcriptome data of 1,217 patients with breast cancer (BC) and 568 patients with thyroid cancer (TC) were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets with their corresponding clinical and somatic mutation data. The lactate metabolism score was calculated based on a single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). The results showed that lactate metabolism-related genes and lactate metabolism scores was significantly associated with the survival of patients with BRCA and THCA. Notably, the lactate metabolism scores were strongly correlated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) expression, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) infiltration, and interferon (IFN) response in BC and TC. Furthermore, the lactate metabolism score was an independent prognostic factor and could serve as a reliable predictor of overall survival, clinical characteristics, and immune cell infiltration, with the potential to be applied in immunotherapy or precise chemotherapy of BC and TC.

Development and Validation of a Prognostic Classifier Based on Lipid Metabolism-Related Genes for Breast Cancer

Background

The changes of lipid metabolism have been implicated in the development of many tumors, but its role in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) remains to be fully established. Here, we attempted to ascertain the prognostic value of lipid metabolism-related genes in BRCA.

Methods

We obtained RNA expression data and clinical information for BRCA and normal samples from public databases and downloaded a lipid metabolism-related gene set. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was applied to identify the potential pathways and functions of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) related to lipid metabolism. Subsequently, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were utilized to construct the prognostic gene signature. Functional enrichment analysis of prognostic genes was achieved by the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Kaplan-Meier analysis, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, clinical follow-up results were employed to assess the prognostic potency. Potential compounds targeting prognostic genes were screened by Connectivity Map (CMap) database and a prognostic gene-drug interaction network was constructed using Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). Furthermore, we separately validated the selected marker genes in BRCA samples and human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231).

Results

IPA and functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that the 162 lipid metabolism-related DEGs we obtained were involved in many lipid metabolism and BRCA pathological signatures. The prognostic classifier we constructed comprising SDC1 and SORBS1 can serve as an independent prognostic marker for BRCA. CMap filtered 37 potential compounds against prognostic genes, of which 16 compounds could target both two prognostic genes were identified by CTD. The functions of the two prognostic genes in breast cancer cells were verified by cell function experiments.

Conclusion

Within this study, we identified a novel prognostic classifier based on two lipid metabolism-related genes: SDC1 and SORBS1. This result highlighted a new perspective on the metabolic exploration of BRCA.

Genomic Evidence Supports the Recognition of Endometriosis as an Inflammatory Systemic Disease and Reveals Disease-Specific Therapeutic Potentials of Targeting Neutrophil Degranulation

Background

Endometriosis, classically viewed as a localized disease, is increasingly recognized as a systemic disease with multi-organ effects. This disease is highlighted by systemic inflammation in affected organs and by high comorbidity with immune-mediated diseases.

Results

We provide genomic evidence to support the recognition of endometriosis as an inflammatory systemic disease. This was achieved through our genomics-led target prioritization, called ‘END’, that leverages the value of multi-layered genomic datasets (including genome-wide associations in disease, regulatory genomics, and protein interactome). Our prioritization recovered existing proof-of-concept therapeutic targeting in endometriosis and outperformed competing prioritization approaches (Open Targets and Naïve prioritization). Target genes at the leading prioritization revealed molecular hallmarks (and possibly the cellular basis as well) that are consistent with systemic disease manifestations. Pathway crosstalk-based attack analysis identified the critical gene AKT1. In the context of this gene, we further identified genes that are already targeted by licensed medications in other diseases, such as ESR1. Such analysis was supported by current interests targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in endometriosis and by the fact that therapeutic agents targeting ESR1 are now under active clinical trials in disease. The construction of cross-disease prioritization map enabled the identification of shared and distinct targets between endometriosis and immune-mediated diseases. Shared target genes identified opportunities for repurposing existing immunomodulators, particularly disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (such as TNF, IL6 and IL6R blockades, and JAK inhibitors). Genes highly prioritized only in endometriosis revealed disease-specific therapeutic potentials of targeting neutrophil degranulation – the exocytosis that can facilitate metastasis-like spread to distant organs causing inflammatory-like microenvironments.

Conclusion

Improved target prioritization, along with an atlas of in silico predicted targets and repurposed drugs (available at https://23verse.github.io/end), provides genomic insights into endometriosis, reveals disease-specific therapeutic potentials, and expands the existing theories on the origin of disease.

Cytochrome b561 Serves as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Target for Breast Cancer

PURPOSE

Cytochrome b561 (CYB561) is a transmembrane protein and participates in ascorbate recycling and iron homeostasis. However, its role in breast cancer remains unclear.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this study, we explored the expression pattern and prognostic value of CYB561 in breast cancer through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), PrognoScan and Kaplan-Meier Plotter and confirmed its mRNA expression in human breast cell lines. LinkedOmics, Metascape and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA2) databases were applied to investigate the co-expression genes and construct microRNA (miRNA) networks associated with CYB561. The correlations between CYB561 and immune infiltration cells and genes were also illustrated.

RESULTS

The CYB561 expression was upregulated in breast cancer tissues and cell lines and significantly correlated with the clinical features of breast cancer patients. High CYB561 expression was associated with poor survival and was an independent risk factor for overall and disease-specific survival. Functional enrichment analysis showed that CYB561 and its co-expressed genes were mainly enriched in lipid biosynthetic process, Wnt signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, etc. The miRNA network analysis suggested that hsa-miR-497 was negatively correlated with CYB561 expression and was predicted to direct target CYB561. CYB561 expression was positively correlated with infiltrating levels of CD4+ T cells, neutrophils and dendritic cells in breast cancer. Subsequent analysis found that B cells could predict the outcome of breast cancer. Also, CYB561 showed strong correlations with diverse immune marker sets in breast cancer.

CONCLUSION

CYB561 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and target for breast cancer. Our findings laid foundation for future research on molecular mechanisms of CYB561 in breast cancer.

Tissue, age, sex, and disease patterns of matrisome expression in GTEx transcriptome data

The extracellular matrix (ECM) has historically been explored through proteomic methods. Whether or not global transcriptomics can yield meaningful information on the human matrisome is unknown. Gene expression data from 17,382 samples across 52 tissues, were obtained from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. Additional datasets were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program and the Gene Expression Omnibus for comparisons. Gene expression levels generally matched proteome-derived matrisome expression patterns. Further, matrisome gene expression properly clustered tissue types, with some matrisome genes including SERPIN family members having tissue-restricted expression patterns. Deeper analyses revealed 382 gene transcripts varied by age and 315 varied by sex in at least one tissue, with expression correlating with digitally imaged histologic tissue features. A comparison of TCGA tumor, TCGA adjacent normal and GTEx normal tissues demonstrated robustness of the GTEx samples as a generalized matrix control, while also determining a common primary tumor matrisome. Additionally, GTEx tissues served as a useful non-diseased control in a separate study of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) matrix changes, while identifying 22 matrix genes upregulated in IPF. Altogether, these findings indicate that the transcriptome, in general, and GTEx in particular, has value in understanding the state of organ ECM.

Loss of Gas7 Is a Key Metastatic Switch in Neuroblastoma

Metastatic spread to distant tissues and organs is responsible for most cancer-related mortalities. Changes in the invasiveness ability of metastatic tumor cells often come with significantly altered gene expression profiles compared with primary tumor cells. Identifying the main actors involved in the metastatic switch of tumor cells is key to proposed new therapeutic approaches. In this issue, the loss of growth-arrest specific 7 is described as one of the main events driving metastatic spread in neuroblastoma.See related article by Dong et al., p. 2995.

The Unique Biology behind the Early Onset of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer commonly affects women of older age; however, in developing countries, up to 20% of breast cancer cases present in young women (younger than 40 years as defined by oncology literature). Breast cancer in young women is often defined to be aggressive in nature, usually of high histological grade at the time of diagnosis and negative for endocrine receptors with poor overall survival rate. Several researchers have attributed this aggressive nature to a hidden unique biology. However, findings in this aspect remain controversial. Thus, in this article, we aimed to review published work addressing somatic mutations, chromosome copy number variants, single nucleotide polymorphisms, differential gene expression, microRNAs and gene methylation profile of early-onset breast cancer, as well as its altered pathways resulting from those aberrations. Distinct biology behind early-onset of breast cancer was clear among estrogen receptor-positive and sporadic cases. However, further research is needed to determine and validate specific novel markers, which may help in customizing therapy for this group of patients.

GAS7 Deficiency Promotes Metastasis in MYCN-Driven Neuroblastoma

One of the greatest barriers to curative treatment of neuroblastoma is its frequent metastatic outgrowth prior to diagnosis, especially in cases driven by amplification of the MYCN oncogene. However, only a limited number of regulatory proteins that contribute to this complex MYCN-mediated process have been elucidated. Here we show that the growth arrest-specific 7 (GAS7) gene, located at chromosome band 17p13.1, is preferentially deleted in high-risk MYCN-driven neuroblastoma. GAS7 expression was also suppressed in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma lacking 17p deletion. GAS7 deficiency led to accelerated metastasis in both zebrafish and mammalian models of neuroblastoma with overexpression or amplification of MYCN. Analysis of expression profiles and the ultrastructure of zebrafish neuroblastoma tumors with MYCN overexpression identified that GAS7 deficiency led to (i) downregulation of genes involved in cell-cell interaction, (ii) loss of contact among tumor cells as critical determinants of accelerated metastasis, and (iii) increased levels of MYCN protein. These results provide the first genetic evidence that GAS7 depletion is a critical early step in the cascade of events culminating in neuroblastoma metastasis in the context of MYCN overexpression. SIGNIFICANCE: Heterozygous deletion or MYCN-mediated repression of GAS7 in neuroblastoma releases an important brake on tumor cell dispersion and migration to distant sites, providing a novel mechanism underlying tumor metastasis in MYCN-driven neuroblastoma.See related commentary by Menard, p. 2815.

Characterization of Hepatitis B Virus Integrations Identified in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Genomes

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Almost half of HCC cases are associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, which often lead to HBV sequence integrations in the human genome. Accurate identification of HBV integration sites at a single nucleotide resolution is critical for developing a better understanding of the cancer genome landscape and of the disease itself. Here, we performed further analyses and characterization of HBV integrations identified by our recently reported VIcaller platform in recurrent or known HCC genes (such as TERT, MLL4, and CCNE1) as well as non-recurrent cancer-related genes (such as CSMD2, NKD2, and RHOU). Our pathway enrichment analysis revealed multiple pathways involving the alcohol dehydrogenase 4 gene, such as the metabolism pathways of retinol, tyrosine, and fatty acid. Further analysis of the HBV integration sites revealed distinct patterns involving the integration upper breakpoints, integrated genome lengths, and integration allele fractions between tumor and normal tissues. Our analysis also implies that the VIcaller method has diagnostic potential through discovering novel clonal integrations in cancer-related genes. In conclusion, although VIcaller is a hypothesis free virome-wide approach, it can still be applied to accurately identify genome-wide integration events of a specific candidate virus and their integration allele fractions.

Discovery of novel DNA methylation biomarkers for non-invasive sporadic breast cancer detection in the Latino population

Human diversity is one of the main pitfalls in the development of robust worldwide biomarkers in oncology. Epigenetic variability across human populations is associated with different genetic backgrounds, as well as variable lifestyles and environmental exposures, each of which should be investigated. To identify potential non-invasive biomarkers of sporadic breast cancer in the Uruguayan population, we studied genome-wide DNA methylation using Illumina methylation arrays in leukocytes of 22 women with sporadic breast cancer and 10 healthy women in a case-control study. We described a panel of 38 differentially methylated CpG positions that was able to cluster breast cancer patients (BCP) and controls, and that also recapitulated methylation differences in 12 primary breast tumors and their matched normal breast tissue. Moving forward, we simplified the detection method to improve its applicability in a clinical setting and used an independent well-characterized cohort of 80 leukocyte DNA samples from BCP and 80 healthy controls to validate methylation results at specific cancer-related genes. Our investigations identified methylation at CYFIP1 as a novel epigenetic biomarker candidate for sporadic breast cancer in the Uruguayan population. These results provide a proof-of-concept for the design of larger studies aimed at validating biomarker panels for the Latin American population.

Screening of Prognostic Factors in Early-Onset Breast Cancer

Background:

Gene expression profiles from early-onset breast cancer and normal tissues were analyzed to explore the genes and prognostic factors associated with breast cancer.

Methods:

GSE109169 and GSE89116 were obtained from the database of Gene Expression Omnibus. We firstly screened the differentially expressed genes between tumor samples and normal samples from patients with early-onset breast cancer. Based on database for annotation, visualization and intergrated discovery (DAVID) tool, functional analysis was calculated. Transcription factor-target regulation and microRNA-target gene network were constructed using the tool of transcriptional regulatory relatitionships unraveled by sentence-based text mining (TRRUST) and miRWalk2.0, respectively. The prognosis-related survival information was compiled based on The Cancer Genome Atlas breast cancer clinical data.

Results:

A total of 708 differentially expressed genes from GSE109169 data sets and 358 differentially expressed genes from GSE89116 data sets were obtained, of which 122 common differentially expressed genes including 102 uniformly downregulated genes and 20 uniformly upregulated genes were screened. Protein–protein interaction network with a total of 83 nodes and 157 relationship pairs was obtained, and genes in protein–protein interaction, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, FGF2, adiponectin, and PCK1, were recognized as key nodes in protein–protein interaction. In total, 66 transcription factor–target relationship pairs were obtained, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ was the only one downregulated transcription factor. MicroRNA-target gene network contained 368 microRNA-target relationship pairs. Moreover, 16 differentially expressed genes, including 2 upregulations and 14 downregulations, were related to a significant correlation with the prognosis, including SQLE and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ.

Conclusions:

SQLE and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ might be important prognostic factors in breast cancers, and adiponectin might be important in breast cancer pathogenesis regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ.

Effects of repetitive Iodine thyroid blocking on the foetal brain and thyroid in rats: a systems biology approach

A single administration of an iodine thyroid blocking agent is usually sufficient to protect thyroid from radioactive iodine and prevent thyroid cancer. Repeated administration of stable iodine (rKI) may be necessary during prolonged or repeated exposure to radioactive iodine. We previously showed that rKI for eight days offers protection without toxic effects in adult rats. However, the effect of rKI administration in the developing foetus is unknown, especially on brain development, although a correlation between impaired maternal thyroid status and a decrease in intelligence quotient of the progeny has been observed. This study revealed distinct gene expression profiles between the progeny of rats receiving either rKI or saline during pregnancy. To understand the implication of these differentially expressed (DE) genes, a systems biology approach was used to construct networks for each organ using three different techniques: Bayesian statistics, sPLS-DA and manual construction of a Process Descriptive (PD) network. The PD network showed DE genes from both organs participating in the same cellular processes that affect mitophagy and neuronal outgrowth. This work may help to evaluate the doctrine for using rKI in case of repetitive or prolonged exposure to radioactive particles upon nuclear accidents.

Classification models for Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Progression, based on gene expression data-trained supervised machine learning

Early detection of breast cancer and its correct stage determination are important for prognosis and rendering appropriate personalized clinical treatment to breast cancer patients. However, despite considerable efforts and progress, there is a need to identify the specific genomic factors responsible for, or accompanying Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) progression stages, which can aid the determination of the correct cancer stages. We have developed two-class machine-learning classification models to differentiate the early and late stages of IDC. The prediction models are trained with RNA-seq gene expression profiles representing different IDC stages of 610 patients, obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Different supervised learning algorithms were trained and evaluated with an enriched model learning, facilitated by different feature selection methods. We also developed a machine-learning classifier trained on the same datasets with training sets reduced data corresponding to IDC driver genes. Based on these two classifiers, we have developed a web-server Duct-BRCA-CSP to predict early stage from late stages of IDC based on input RNA-seq gene expression profiles. The analysis conducted by us also enables deeper insights into the stage-dependent molecular events accompanying IDC progression. The server is publicly available at http://bioinfo.icgeb.res.in/duct-BRCA-CSP.

miR-362-5p promotes cell proliferation and cell cycle progression by targeting GAS7 in acute myeloid leukemia

Recently, miR-362-5p has attracted special interest as a novel prognostic predictor in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, its biological function and underlying molecular mechanism in AML remain to be further defined. Herein, we found that a significant increase in miR-362-5p expression was observed in AML patients and cell lines using quantitative real-time PCR. The expression of miR-362-5p was altered in THP-1 and HL-60 cells by transfecting with miR-362-5p mimic or inhibitor. A series of experiments showed that inhibition of miR-362-5p expression significantly suppressed cell proliferation, induced G0/G1 phase arrest and attenuated tumor growth in vivo. On the contrary, ectopic expression of miR-362-5p resulted in enhanced cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and tumor growth. Moreover, growth arrest-specific 7 (GAS7) was confirmed as a direct target gene of miR-362-5p and was negatively modulated by miR-362-5p. GAS7 overexpression imitated the tumor suppressive effect of silenced miR-362-5p on THP-1 cells. Furthermore, miR-362-5p knockdown or GAS7 overexpression obviously down-regulated the expression levels of PCNA, CDK4 and cyclin D1, but up-regulated p21 expression. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that miR-362-5p exerts oncogenic effects in AML by directly targeting GAS7, which might provide a promising therapeutic target for AML.

FOXN4 Inhibits Breast Cancer Progression By Direct Activation Of P53

Background

Fork head domain-containing gene family (Fox) transcription factors, consisting of over 20 members, are involved in the progression of certain types of tumor. However, whether FOXN4 is involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression is still unclear.

Purpose

In this study, we investigated the clinicopathological significance and the underlying mechanism of FOXN4 in breast cancer.

Methods and results

We examined the lower expression of FOXN4 in breast cancer tissues and cancer cell lines. The expression of FOXN4 is negatively correlated with tumor size and lymph node metastasis. Using CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, and Transwell assay, we revealed that FOXN4 notably decreased breast cancer cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion in vitro. In addition, quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase assays determined that FOXN4 was able to directly bind with the promoter of P53. RT-qPCR and Western blotting analysis showed that FOXN4 could directly activate P53 expression. Functionally, P53 knockdown rescued the tumor inhibition effects of FOXN4 in breast cancer cells.

Conclusion

The present study provides new insights into the role of FOXN4 in breast cancer progression and suggests FOXN4 might represent a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer by modulating P53.

Solution NMR structure and ligand identification of human Gas7 SH3 domain reveal a typical SH3 fold but a non-canonical ligand-binding mode

Growth arrest specific 7 (Gas7) protein is a cytoskeleton regulator playing a crucial role in neural cell development and function, and has been implicated in Alzheimer disease, schizophrenia and cancers. In human, three Gas7 isoforms can be expressed from a single Gas7 gene, while only the longest isoform, hGas7c, possesses an SH3 domain at the N-terminus. To date, the structure and function of hGas7 SH3 domain are still unclear. Here, we reported the solution NMR structure of hGas7 SH3 domain (hGas7-SH3), which displays a typical SH3 β-barrel fold comprising five β-strands and one 3₁₀-helix. Structural and sequence comparison showed that hGas7-SH3 shares high similarity with Abl SH3 domain, which binds to a high-affinity proline-rich peptide P41 in a canonical SH3-ligand binding mode through two hydrophobic pockets and a specificity site in the RT-loop. However, unlike Abl-SH3, only six residues in the RT-loop and two residues adjacent to but not in the two hydrophobic pockets of hGas7-SH3 showed significant chemical shift perturbations in NMR titrations, suggesting a low affinity and a non-canonical binding mode of hGas7-SH3 for P41. Furthermore, four peptides selected from phage-displayed libraries also bound weakly to hGas7-SH3, and the binding region of hGas7-SH3 was mainly located in the RT-loop as well. The ligand identifications through structural similarity searching and peptide library screening in this study imply that although hGas7-SH3 adopts a typical SH3 fold, it probably possesses distinctive ligand-binding specificity.

Study of the antitumor mechanisms of apiole derivatives (AP-02) from Petroselinum crispum through induction of G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in human COLO 205 cancer cells

Background

Apiole was isolated from the leaves of various plants and vegetables and has been demonstrated to inhibit human colon cancer cell (COLO 205 cells) growth through induction of G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. This study further explored the antitumor effects of apiole derivatives AP-02, 04, and 05 in COLO 205 cancer cells.

Methods

Human breast (MDA-MB-231, ZR75), lung (A549, PE089), colon (COLO 205, HT 29), and hepatocellular (Hep G2, Hep 3B) cancer cells were treated with apiole and its derivatives in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry analysis was subsequently performed to determine the mechanism of AP-02-induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. The in vivo antitumor effect of AP-02 (1 and 5 mg/kg, administered twice per week) was examined by treating athymic nude mice bearing COLO 205 tumor xenografts. The molecular mechanisms of AP-02-induced antitumor effects were determined using western blot analysis.

Results

AP-02 was the most effective compound, especially for inhibition of COLO 205 colon cancer cell growth. The cytotoxicity of AP-02 in normal colon epithelial (FHC) cells was significantly lower than that in other normal cells derived from the breast, lung or liver. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that AP-02-induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in COLO 205 cells but not in HT 29 cells (< 5 μM for 24 h, **p < 0.01). Tumor growth volume was also significantly inhibited in AP-02 (> 1 mg/kg)-treated athymic nude mice bearing COLO 205 tumor xenografts compared to control mice (*p < 0.05). Furthermore, G0/G1 phase regulatory proteins (p53 and p21/Cip1) and an invasion suppressor protein (E-cadherin) were significantly upregulated, while cyclin D1 was significantly downregulated, in AP-02-treated tumor tissues compared to the control group (> 1 mg/kg, *p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our results provide in vitro and in vivo molecular evidence of AP-02-induced anti-proliferative effects on colon cancer, indicating that this compound might have potential clinical applications.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2590-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A novel RNA aptamer identifies plasma membrane ATP synthase beta subunit as an early marker and therapeutic target in aggressive cancer

PURPOSE

Primary breast and prostate cancers can be cured, but metastatic disease cannot. Identifying cell factors that predict metastatic potential could guide both prognosis and treatment.

METHODS

We used Cell-SELEX to screen an RNA aptamer library for differential binding to prostate cancer cell lines with high vs. low metastatic potential. Mass spectroscopy, immunoblot, and immunohistochemistry were used to identify and validate aptamer targets. Aptamer properties were tested in vitro, in xenograft models, and in clinical biopsies. Gene expression datasets were queried for target associations in cancer.

RESULTS

We identified a novel aptamer (Apt63) that binds to the beta subunit of F1Fo ATP synthase (ATP5B), present on the plasma membrane of certain normal and cancer cells. Apt63 bound to plasma membranes of multiple aggressive breast and prostate cell lines, but not to normal breast and prostate epithelial cells, and weakly or not at all to non-metastasizing cancer cells; binding led to rapid cell death. A single intravenous injection of Apt63 induced rapid, tumor cell-selective binding and cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-231 xenograft tumors, associated with endonuclease G nuclear translocation and DNA fragmentation. Apt63 was not toxic to non-transformed epithelial cells in vitro or adjacent normal tissue in vivo. In breast cancer tissue arrays, plasma membrane staining with Apt63 correlated with tumor stage (p < 0.0001, n = 416) and was independent of other cancer markers. Across multiple datasets, ATP5B expression was significantly increased relative to normal tissue, and negatively correlated with metastasis-free (p = 0.0063, 0.00039, respectively) and overall (p = 0.050, 0.0198) survival.

CONCLUSION

Ecto-ATP5B binding by Apt63 may disrupt an essential survival mechanism in a subset of tumors with high metastatic potential, and defines a novel category of cancers with potential vulnerability to ATP5B-targeted therapy. Apt63 is a unique tool for elucidating the function of surface ATP synthase, and potentially for predicting and treating metastatic breast and prostate cancer.

Fubp1 supports the lactate-Akt-mTOR axis through the upregulation of Hk1 and Hk2

Cells require energy for homeostatic activities, growth and division. By utilizing glucose as the main energy source, cells generate ATP and metabolic precursors through glycolysis and citric acid cycle. Although the oxidative phosphorylation can produce more ATP molecules from one molecule of glucose than glycolysis, rapidly growing cells primarily metabolize glucose via aerobic glycolysis. This aerobic glycolysis makes cells to uptake glucose at a higher rate and to efficiently convert glucose into the macromolecules required for new daughter cells. Recent evidence suggests that Fubp1 promotes cell proliferation and survival, and it is overexpressed in a variety of cancers. However, the role of Fubp1 in cellular metabolism remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that Fubp1 upregulates the mRNA levels of two hexokinase genes, Hk1 and Hk2. We also found the positive correlation in mRNA expression between Fubp1 and both of hexokinase genes in several types of cancers. We suggest that Fubp1 contributes to cell survival through supporting lactate-Akt-mTOR axis.