Estrogen receptor-α regulation of microRNA-590 targets FAM171A1-a modifier of breast cancer invasiveness

Breast cancer-derived exosomal lncRNA SNHG14 induces normal fibroblast activation to cancer-associated fibroblasts via the EBF1/FAM171A1 axis

BACKGROUND

Exosomes released from cancer cells can activate normal fibroblasts (NFs) into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which promotes cancer development. Our study aims to explore the role and potential mechanisms of breast cancer exosomes-delivered long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG14 in regulating CAFs transformation.

METHODS

Adjacent normal tissues, cancerous and serum specimens were gathered in breast cancer patients. Exosomes and NFs were separated from breast cancer cells (SKBR-3) and normal tissues of patients, respectively. Cell viability and migration were measured with CCK-8 and Transwell assays. CAFs markers, fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and a-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were detected for assessing CAFs activation. The interactions between molecules were evaluated using dual luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation.

RESULTS

SNHG14 and FAM171A1 were upregulated in breast cancer. Exosomes secreted by SKBR-3 cells induced NFs activation in CAFs, as indicated by upregulating CAFs marker levels and facilitated cell viability and migration. Exosomal SNHG14 silencing in SKBR-3 cells inhibited CAFs activation. SNHG14 positively regulated FAM171A1 expression through EBF1. FAM171A1 overexpression eliminated the inhibition effect of exosomal SNHG14 silencing in CAFs transformation.

CONCLUSION

Breast cancer-derived exosomal SNHG14 contributed to NFs transformation into CAFs by the EBF1/FAM171A1 axis.

Aberrant NSG1 Expression Promotes Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell EMT by the Activation of ERK Signaling Pathway

BACKGROUND

Neuron-specific gene family member 1 (NSG1) is a 21 kDa endosomal protein that is specifically expressed in neurons.

AIMS

This study was to explore the expression of NSG1 and possible mechanism in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was consulted to analyze the expression of NSG1 in ESCC. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was used to evaluate NSG1 expression in ESCC cancerous tissues and matched paracancerous tissues. The CCK-8 assay, wound-healing assay, and transwell assay were used to detect the cell viability, migration, and invasion of ESCC cells. Western blot was used to assay epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins and ERK signaling pathway protein expression.

RESULTS

The results showed that the expression of NSG1 in ESCC cancerous tissues was higher than noncancerous tissues. Compared with negative control (NC) group, cell viability, migration. and invasion significantly increased, the expression of p-ERK in ERK signaling pathway was significantly upregulated, the expressions of mesenchymal marker Vimentin and EMT-related transcription factors including snail and slug were significantly upregulated, and the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin was significantly downregulated in KYSE-150 cells with NSG1 overexpression. However, these effects were reversed by the ERK signaling pathway inhibitor U0126. On the other hand, TE-1 cells with NSG1 knockdown had the changes contrary to that in KYSE-150 cells with NSG1 overexpression.

CONCLUSION

NSG1 plays a potential carcinogenic role on the occurrence and progression of ESCC, and aberrant NSG1 expression might promote ESCC cell EMT by the activation of ERK signaling pathway.

Elevated tumor expression of Astroprincin (FAM171A1) is an independent marker of poor prognosis in colon cancer

BACKGROUND

Colon cancer (CC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies worldwide. Several biomarkers have been suggested for improved prognostic evaluation, but few have been implemented in clinical practice. There is a need for biomarkers that predict the tumor behavior in CC and allow stratification of patients that would benefit from adjuvant therapy. We recently identified and functionally characterized a previously unknown protein that we called ASTROPRINCIN (APCN) due to its abundance in astrocytes. APCN, also annotated as FAM171A1, is found in trophoblasts of early placenta. We demonstrated that high expression levels of APCN in cancer cells induced motility and ability of invasive growth in semisolid medium.

METHODS

We screened by immunohistochemistry a tissue microarray material from the tumors of 429 CC patients with clinical follow-up in a test series and 255 CC patients in a validation series.

RESULTS

We showed that low or absent APCN expression correlates with a favorable prognosis while high APCN expression was a sign of an adverse outcome. Cox uni- and multivariable analysis revealed that elevated tumor expression of APCN constitutes a robust marker of poor prognosis independent of stage, grade, patient's age, or gender.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate that APCN is a novel independent prognostic marker in CC and could potentially select patients for more intense postoperative adjuvant treatment and follow-up.

Gene-associated methylation status of ST14 as a predictor of survival and hormone receptor positivity in breast Cancer

Background

Genomic profiles of specific gene sets have been established to guide personalized treatment and prognosis for patients with breast cancer (BC). However, epigenomic information has not yet been applied in a clinical setting. ST14 encodes matriptase, a proteinase that is widely expressed in BC with reported prognostic value.

Methods

In this present study, we evaluated the effect of ST14 DNA methylation (DNAm) on overall survival (OS) of patients with BC as a representative example to promote the use of the epigenome in clinical decisions. We analyzed publicly available genomic and epigenomic data from 1361 BC patients. Methylation was characterized by the β-value from CpG probes based on sequencing with the Illumina Human 450 K platform.

Results

A high mean DNAm (β > 0.6779) across 34 CpG probes for ST14, as the gene-associated methylation (GAM) pattern, was associated with a longer OS after adjusting age, stage, histology and molecular features in Cox model (p value < 0.001). A high GAM status was also associated with a higher XBP1 expression level and higher proportion of hormone-positive BC (p value < 0.001). Pathway analysis revealed that altered GAM was related to matrisome-associated pathway.

Conclusions

Here we show the potential role of ST14 DNAm in BC prognosis and warrant further study.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08645-3.

Emerging role of non-coding RNAs in response of cancer cells to radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is an effective method for treatment of a large proportion of human cancers. Yet, the efficacy of this method is precluded by the induction of radioresistance in tumor cells and the radiation-associated injury of normal cells surrounding the field of radiation. These restrictions necessitate the introduction of modalities for either radiosensitization of cancer cells or protection of normal cells against adverse effects of radiation. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have essential roles in the determination of radiosensitivity. Moreover, ncRNAs can modulate radiation-induced side effects in normal cells. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) such as miR-620, miR-21 and miR-96-5p confer radioresistance, while other miRNAs including miR-340/ 429 confer radiosensitivity. The expression levels of a number of miRNAs are associated with radiation-induced complications such as lung fibrosis or oral mucositis. The expression patterns of several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) such as MALAT1, LINC00630, HOTAIR, UCA1 and TINCR are associated with response to radiotherapy. Taken together, lncRNAs and miRNAs contribute both in modulation of response of cancer cells to radiotherapy and in protection of normal cells from the associated side effects. The current review provides an overview of the roles of these transcripts in these aspects.

Impact of Astroprincin (FAM171A1) Expression in Oral Tongue Cancer

Astroprincin (APCN, FAM171A1) is a recently characterized transmembrane glycoprotein that is abundant in brain astrocytes and is overexpressed in some tumors. However, the expression and role of APCN is unknown in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). Aim of this study was to investigate the expression of APCN in OTSCC tissue samples and to analyze possible association of APCN with clinicopathological features and survival rates. This study included 76 patients treated for OTSCC. Expression of APCN in OTSCC tissue sections was examined by immunohistochemistry with a rabbit polyclonal antibody (MAP346) against APCN. All tumors were scored for intensity and percentage of APCN staining at the superficial, middle, and invasive front areas. High expression of APCN was significantly associated with increased tumor size (P = 0.013) and with OTSCC recurrence (P = 0.026). In this pilot study, we observed that the amount of APCN is associated with the size and recurrence of OTSCC. This finding suggests a role of APCN during OTSCC progression.

Perspectives on the Role of Non-Coding RNAs in the Regulation of Expression and Function of the Estrogen Receptor

Estrogen receptors (ERs) comprise several nuclear and membrane-bound receptors with different tissue-specific functions. ERα and ERβ are two nuclear members of this family, whereas G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), ER-X, and Gq-coupled membrane estrogen receptor (Gq-mER) are membrane-bound G protein-coupled proteins. ERα participates in the development and function of several body organs such as the reproductive system, brain, heart and musculoskeletal systems. ERβ has a highly tissue-specific expression pattern, particularly in the female reproductive system, and exerts tumor-suppressive roles in some tissues. Recent studies have revealed functional links between both nuclear and membrane-bound ERs and non-coding RNAs. Several oncogenic lncRNAs and miRNAs have been shown to exert their effects through the modulation of the expression of ERs. Moreover, treatment with estradiol has been shown to alter the malignant behavior of cancer cells through functional axes composed of non-coding RNAs and ERs. The interaction between ERs and non-coding RNAs has functional relevance in several human pathologies associated with estrogen regulation, such as cancers, intervertebral disc degeneration, coronary heart disease and diabetes. In the current review, we summarize scientific literature on the role of miRNAs and lncRNAs on ER-associated signaling and related disorders.

Identification of Important Modules and Biomarkers in Breast Cancer Based on WGCNA

Introduction

Breast cancer (BRCA) has the highest incidence among female malignancies, and the prognosis for these patients remains poor.

Materials and Methods

In this study, core modules and central genes related to BRCA were identified through a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Gene expression profiles and clinical data of GSE25066 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The result was validated with RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Oncomine database. The top 30 key module genes with the highest intramodule connectivity were selected as the core genes (R² = 0.40).

Results

According to TCGA and Oncomine datasets, seven genes were selected as candidate hub genes. Following further experimental verification, four hub genes (FAM171A1, NDFIP1, SKP1, and REEP5) were retained.

Conclusion

We identified four hub genes as candidate biomarkers for BRCA. These hub genes may provide a theoretical basis for targeted therapy against BRCA.

Exploring specific prognostic biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer

Lacking of both prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) underscores pivotal needs to uncover novel biomarkers and viable therapies. MicroRNAs have broad biological functions in cancers and may serve as ideal biomarkers. In this study, by data mining of the Cancer Genome Atlas database, we screened out 4 differentially-expressed microRNAs (DEmiRNAs) between TNBC and normal samples: miR-135b-5p, miR-9-3p, miR-135b-3p and miR-455-5p. They were specially correlated with the prognosis of TNBC but not non-TNBC. The weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) for potential target genes of 3 good prognosis-related DEmiRNAs (miR-135b-5p, miR-9-3p, miR-135b-3p) identified 4 hub genes with highly positive correlation with TNBC subtype: FOXC1, BCL11A, FAM171A1 and RGMA. The targeting relationships between miR-9-3p and FOXC1/FAM171A1, miR-135b-3p and RGMA were validated by dual-luciferase reporter assays. Importantly, the regulatory functions of 4 DEmiRNAs and 3 verified target genes on cell proliferation and migration were explored in TNBC cell lines. In conclusion, we shed lights on these 4 DEmiRNAs (miR-135b-5p, miR-9-3p, miR-135b-3p, miR-455-5p) and 3 hub genes (FOXC1, FAM171A1, RGMA) as specific prognostic biomarkers and promising therapeutic targets for TNBC.