Up-regulation of microRNA-340 promotes osteosarcoma cell apoptosis while suppressing proliferation, migration, and invasion by inactivating the CTNNB1-mediated Notch signaling pathway

The Role of lncRNA-miR-26a-mRNA Network in Cancer Progression and Treatment

The role of non-coding RNAs in regulating biological processes associated with cancer progression, such as proliferation, migration, and apoptosis, has been extensively studied. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a role in regulating these processes through various mechanisms, including transcriptional and post-transcriptional modifications. In post-transcriptional regulation, lncRNAs can bind to specific miRNAs and affect their function, which can either promote or inhibit cancer development. The interaction between lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs forms a network known as competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), which is involved in cancer progression or inhibition. One specific miRNA called miR-26a-5p has been identified as having tumor-suppressive properties. However, when lncRNAs bind to and inhibit miR-26a-5p, it can lead to cancer progression. Therefore, targeting this ceRNA network could be a promising strategy for preventing cancer development. This review will first discuss the anticancer effects of miR-26a-5p and then explore the involvement of the lncRNA-miR26a-5p-mRNA axis in cancer progression and potential targeted therapies.

Molecular mechanism of microRNAs regulating apoptosis in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a primary malignant bone tumor with no effective treatment. Apoptosis, one of the programmed cell death, is any pathological form of cell death mediated by intracellular processes. Under the pathological state, the de-regulated regulation of apoptosis can disrupt the balance between cell proliferation and death, causing osteosarcoma proliferation and metastasis. As carcinogenic or tumor suppressor factors, microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by regulating apoptosis-related genes and apoptosis-related signaling pathways, such as mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, death receptor pathway, and endoplasmic reticulum pathway. Meanwhile as these abnormal miRNAs can be stored and transported by exosomes, detecting exosomes can be seen an effective method to diagnose osteosarcoma in the early stage. This review provides the current knowledge of miRNAs and their target genes related to the apoptosis of osteosarcoma, summarizes abnormal expression and regulation of miRNAs and signaling pathways in osteosarcoma and prospects the detection of exosome as a method for early diagnosis of osteosarcoma.

The Prognostic Value of Serum Uric Acid in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction

Background

Previous studies reported that the level of serum uric acid (SUA) was an important risk factor for acute cerebral infarction (ACI). However, the prognostic value of SUA levels in hospitalized patients with ACI has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the SUA level on admission was associated with subsequent mortality in hospitalized patients with ACI.

Methods

The clinical data of ACI patients obtained from December 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. χ² and Kaplan–Meier methods were used to compare the clinical differences and overall survival between patients with or without hyperuricemia, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify independent prognoses.

Results

In the total population, the in-hospital mortality of the hyperuricemia group was significantly higher than that of the normal uric acid group (P = 0.006). In the abnormal renal function group, the in-hospital mortality among the hyperuricemia group was significantly higher than the normal uric acid group (P = 0.002). However, there was no statistical difference of in-hospital mortality between the two groups in the normal renal function group (P = 0.321). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that a previous history of diabetes (P = 0.018), hyperuricemia (P = 0.001), and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission (P ≤ 0.001) were independent factors for all samples. The hyperuricemia (P = 0.003) on admission were independent factors for patients with abnormal renal function.

Conclusions

In ACI patients with abnormal renal function, hyperuricemia may be associated with higher in-hospital mortality than patients with normal uric acid, and hyperuricemia may be an independent associated factor for in-hospital death in the subgroup patients.

RUNX2 as a promising therapeutic target for malignant tumors

The transcription factor runt-related protein 2 (RUNX2) has an important impact on the transformation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts. Further studies have shown that RUNX2 plays a key role in the invasion and metastasis of cancers. RUNX2 is a "key" molecule in the regulatory network comprised of multiple signaling pathways upstream and its target downstream molecules. Due to the complex regulatory mechanisms of RUNX2, the specific mechanism underlying the occurrence, development and prognosis of malignant tumors has not been fully understood. Currently, RUNX2 as a promising therapeutic target for cancers has become a research hotspot. Herein, we reviewed the current literature on the modulatory functions and mechanisms of RUNX2 in the development of malignant tumors, aiming to explore its potential clinical application in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of tumors.

miR-340: A multifunctional role in human malignant diseases

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides in length, which function by binding to the 3' UTR sequences of their target mRNAs. It has been reported that dysregulated miRNAs play pivotal roles in numerous diseases, including cancers, such as gastric, breast, colorectal, ovarian, and other cancers. Recent research efforts have been devoted to translating these basic discoveries into clinical applications that could improve the therapeutic outcome in patients with cancer. Early studies have shown that miR-340 may act either as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor by targeting genes related to proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis, as well as those associated with diagnosis, treatment, chemoresistance, and prognosis. miR-340 has been shown to have a role in other diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, acute stroke, and alcoholic steatohepatitis. Nevertheless, the roles of miR-340 in human malignancies are still unclear, and the associated mechanisms are complex, involving a variety of signaling pathways, such as Wnt/β-catenin and the JAK-STAT pathways. Herein, we review the crucial roles of miR-340 in human cancers through the analysis of the latest research studies, with the aim of clarifying miR-340 function in malignant disease diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, and to propose further investigations.

Notch-1 promotes the malignant progression of osteosarcoma through the activation of cell division cycle 20

The molecular mechanism of osteosarcoma (OS) pathogenesis is poorly understood. The Notch signaling pathway has been shown to be critically involved in tumorigenesis, including OS. Therefore, we explored the molecular mechanism by which the Notch-1 signaling pathway is involved in OS progression. Several approaches were carried out to determine the biological function of Notch-1 in OS cells. The MTT results revealed that Notch-1 overexpression increased the viability of OS cells, whereas Notch-1 downregulation reduced cell viability. Consistently, modulation of Notch-1 regulated apoptosis and the migratory and invasive abilities of OS cells. Mechanistic studies showed that Notch-1 overexpression augmented cell division cycle 20 (Cdc20) expression in OS cells. Moreover, overexpression of Cdc20 alleviated the inhibitory effects of Notch-1 downregulation on the viability, migration and invasion of OS cells. Our study offers a promising OS treatment strategy by inhibiting Notch-1.

Cellular plasticity and drug resistance in sarcoma

Sarcomas, originating from mesenchymal progenitor stem cells, are a group of rare malignant tumors with poor prognosis. Wide surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the most common sarcoma treatments. However, sarcomas' response rates to chemotherapy are quite low and sarcoma cells can have intrinsic or acquired resistance after treatment with chemotherapeutics drugs, leading to the development of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Cancer cellular plasticity plays pivotal roles in cancer initiation, progression, therapy resistance and cancer relapse. Moreover, cancer cellular plasticity can be regulated by a multitude of factors, such as genetic and epigenetic alterations, tumor microenvironment (TME) or selective pressure imposed by treatment. Recent studies have demonstrated that cellular plasticity is involved in sarcoma progression and chemoresistance. It's essential to understand the molecular mechanisms of cellular plasticity as well as its roles in sarcoma progression and drug resistance. Therefore, this review focuses on the regulatory mechanisms and pathological roles of these diverse cellular plasticity programs in sarcoma. Additionally, we propose cellular plasticity as novel therapeutic targets to reduce sarcoma drug resistance.

Essentiality of CTNNB1 in Malignant Transformation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells under Long-Term Suboptimal Conditions

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) gradually accumulate abnormal karyotypes during long-term suboptimal culture, which hinder their application in regenerative medicine. Previous studies demonstrated that the activation of CTNNB1 might be implicated in this process. Hence, the hESC line with stably silenced CTNNB1 was established to further explore the role of CTNNB1 in the malignant transformation of hESCs. It was shown to play a vital role in the maintenance of the physiological properties of stem cells, such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, and telomere regulation. Furthermore, the malignant transformation of hESCs was induced by continuous exposure to 0.001 μg/ml mitomycin C (MMC). The results showed that CTNNB1 and its target genes, including proto-oncogenes CCND1 and C-MYC, were aberrantly upregulated in hESCs after MMC treatment. Moreover, the high expression of CTNNB1 accelerated cell transition from G0/G1 phase to the S phase and stimulated the growth of cells containing breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycles. Conversely, CTNNB1 silencing inhibited these effects and triggered a survival crisis. The current data indicated that CTNNB1 is intimately associated with the physiological properties of stem cells; however, the aberrant expression of CTNNB1 is involved in the malignant transformation of hESCs, which might advance the process by facilitating telomere-related unstable cell proliferation. Thus, the aberrant CTNNB1 level might serve as a potential biomarker for detecting the malignant transformation of hESCs.

Big data-driven precision medicine: Starting the custom-made era of iatrology

Precision medicine is a new therapeutic concept and method emerging in recent years. The rapid development of precision medicine is driven by the development of omics related technology, biological information and big data science. Precision medicine is provided to implement precise and personalized treatment for diseases and specific patients. Precision medicine is commonly used in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of various diseases. This review introduces the application of precision medicine in eight systematic diseases of the human body, and systematically presenting the current situation of precision medicine. At the same time, the shortcomings and limitations of precision medicine are pointed out. Finally, we prospect the development of precision medicine.

Bisphenol A triggers the malignancy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway

It is critical to understand the risk factors responsible for the tumorigenesis and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Bisphenol A (BPA) can regulate the estrogenic signals to modulate cancer progression, while its roles in NC were not investigated. Our present study revealed that the BPA can increase proliferation and migration of NPC cells while decrease the chemosensitivity to doxorubicin (Dox). The inhibitor of GSK-3β/β-catenin (LiCl) can restore BPA-induced cell proliferation of NPC cells, which is due to that BPA can decrease phosphorylation while increase expression and nucleus localization of β-catenin. Mechanistically, BPA can increase the mRNA stability of β-catenin (encoded by CTNNB1) via suppressing the expression of miR-214-3p, which can direct target the 3'UTR of β-catenin mRNA. Further, BPA can decrease phosphorylation of β-catenin via repressing the expression of CK1α. Collectively, our data showed that BPA can trigger the proliferation and malignancy of NPC cells via activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. It indicated that body accumulation and inhalation exposure of BPA might be a risk factor for NPC development.

Cell proliferation is induced in renal cell carcinoma through miR-92a-3p upregulation by targeting FBXW7

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer whose incidence has gradually increased worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a type of short endogenous non-coding RNA containing approximately 22 nucleotides, which are capable of regulating mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level in human cells. miRNAs have been demonstrated to mediate gene expression by influencing important regulatory genes. Accumulating evidence indicates that certain miRNAs are involved in RCC development. The present study investigated the underlying mechanism and functional role of miR-92a-3p in RCC cells using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, 3′ UTR luciferase assay, cell proliferation assay and soft agar assay. The results demonstrated that miR-92a-3p expression level is significantly upregulated in RCC tissues and cell lines; however, F-box and WD repeat domain containing 7 (FBXW7) expression level was significantly downregulated in RCC tissues and cell lines. Subsequently, whether FBXW7 could be considered as a direct target of miR-92a-3p in RCC cells was investigated. The results demonstrated that miR-92a-3p overexpression significantly promoted RCC cell proliferation and colony formation. Conversely, miR-92a-3p downregulation significantly inhibited RCC cell proliferation and colony formation. In addition, FBXW7 knockdown significantly enhanced RCC cell proliferation and colony formation. Conversely, FBXW7 overexpression significantly inhibited RCC cell proliferation and colony formation. Collectively, these results demonstrated that miR-92a-3p/FBXW7 pathway may represent a novel strategy and therapeutic target for RCC.

Contextual Regulation of Skeletal Physiology by Notch Signaling

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article reviews the past 2 years of research on Notch signaling as it relates to bone physiology, with the goal of reconciling seemingly discrepant findings and identifying fruitful areas of potential future research.

RECENT FINDINGS

Conditional animal models and high-throughput omics have contributed to a greater understanding of the context-dependent role of Notch signaling in bone. However, significant gaps remain in our understanding of how spatiotemporal context and epigenetic state dictate downstream Notch phenotypes. Biphasic activation of Notch signaling orchestrates progression of mesenchymal progenitor cells through the osteoblast lineage, but there is a limited understanding of ligand- and receptor-specific functions. Paracrine Notch signaling through non-osteoblastic cell types contributes additional layers of complexity, and we anticipate impactful future work related to the integration of these cell types and signaling mechanisms.