Progesterone receptor antagonist provides palliative effects for uterine leiomyoma through a Bcl-2/Beclin1-dependent mechanism

Lymphoma cell-derived extracellular vesicles inhibit autophagy and apoptosis to promote lymphoma cell growth via the microRNA-106a/Beclin1 axis

Lymphoma is a common malignant tumor globally. Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (Evs) participate in genetic information exchange between tumor cells. We investigated the role and mechanism of human Burkitt lymphoma cells Raji-derived Evs (Raji-Evs) in lymphoma cells. Effects of Evs on lymphoma cell proliferation, invasion, autophagy, and apoptosis were assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 method, Transwell assay, laser confocal microscopy, Western blotting, and flow cytometry. microRNA (miR)-106a expression in lymphoma cells was determined using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and then downregulated in Raji cells and then Evs were isolated (Evs-in-miR-106a) to evaluate its role in lymphoma cell growth. The binding relationship between miR-106a and Beclin1 was verified using RNA pull-down and dual-luciferase assays. Beclin1 was overexpressed in SU-DHL-4 and Farage cells and SU-DHL-4 cell autophagy and apoptosis were detected. The levels of miR-106a and Beclin1 in SU-DHL-4 cells were detected after adding autophagy inhibitors. The tumorigenicity assay in nude mice was performed to validate the effects of Raji-Evs in vivo. Raji-Evs promoted lymphoma cell proliferation and invasion and increased miR-106a. miR-106a knockdown reversed Evs-promoted lymphoma cell proliferation and invasion. miR-106a carried by Raji-Evs targeted Beclin1 expression. Beclin1 overexpression or miR-106a inhibitor reversed the effects of Evs on lymphoma cell autophagy and apoptosis. Autophagy inhibitors elevated miR-106a expression and lowered Beclin1 expression. Raji-Evs-carried miR-106a inhibited Beclin1-dependent autophagy and apoptosis in lymphoma cells, which were further verified in vivo, together with promoted tumor growth. We proved that Raji-Evs inhibited lymphoma cell autophagy and apoptosis and promoted cell growth via the miR-106a/Beclin1 axis.

Molecular and Cellular Insights into the Development of Uterine Fibroids

Uterine leiomyomas represent the most common benign gynecologic tumor. These hormone-dependent smooth-muscle formations occur with an estimated prevalence of ~70% among women of reproductive age and cause symptoms including pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, infertility, and recurrent abortion. Despite the prevalence and public health impact of uterine leiomyomas, available treatments remain limited. Among the potential causes of leiomyomas, early hormonal exposure during periods of development may result in developmental reprogramming via epigenetic changes that persist in adulthood, leading to disease onset or progression. Recent developments in unbiased high-throughput sequencing technology enable powerful approaches to detect driver mutations, yielding new insights into the genomic instability of leiomyomas. Current data also suggest that each leiomyoma originates from the clonal expansion of a single transformed somatic stem cell of the myometrium. In this review, we propose an integrated cellular and molecular view of the origins of leiomyomas, as well as paradigm-shifting studies that will lead to better understanding and the future development of non-surgical treatments for these highly frequent tumors.