LINC00636 promotes lymph node metastasis and cervical cancer through targeting NM23

Value of non-coding RNAs to assess lymph node status in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth cancer in women and is the leading cause of cancer death in 42 countries. Lymph node metastasis is a determinant prognostic factor, as underlined in the latest FIGO classification. However, assessment of lymph node status remains difficult, despite the progress of imaging such as PET-CT and MRI. In the specific setting of CC, all data underlined the need for new biomarkers easily available to assess lymph node status. Previous studies have underlined the potential value of ncRNA expression in gynecological cancers. In this review, we aimed to evaluate the contribution of ncRNAs in tissue and biofluid samples to determine lymph node status in CC with potential impact on both surgical and adjuvant therapies. In tissue samples, our analysis found that there are arguments to support the role of ncRNAs in physiopathology, differential diagnosis from normal tissue, preinvasive and invasive tumors. In biofluids, despite small studies especially concerning miRNAs expression, promising data opens up new avenue to establish a non-invasive signature for lymph node status as well as a tool to predict response to neo- and adjuvant therapies, thus improving management algorithm of patients with CC.

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Promotes the Tumorigenesis, Lymphangiogenesis, and Lymphatic Metastasis in Cervical Cancer via Activating VEGFC-Mediated AKT and ERK Pathways

Background

Lymphatic metastasis is a common phenomenon of cervical cancer. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was found to be closely associated with lymphatic cancer metastasis. However, the mechanism through which TNF-α regulates lymphatic metastasis in cervical cancer remains unclear.

Methods

In this study, cervical cancer cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) with or without TNF-α for 48 h, and then the corresponding conditional medium (CM-TNF-α or CM) was collected. The level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFC) in the corresponding CM was then detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Next, human lymphatic endothelial cells (HLECs) were cultured in CM-TNF-α or CM for 48 h. Cell viability was measured using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and angiogenesis was detected using a tube formation assay. Subsequently, the expressions of AKT, p-AKT, ERK, and p-ERK in HLECs were detected using western blotting. In addition, to further investigate the effect of TNF-α on the progression of cervical cancer, a C33A subcutaneous xenograft model was established in vivo.

Results

We found that TNF-α significantly stimulated cervical cancer cells to secrete VEGFC. Additionally, the CM collected from the TNF-α-treated cervical cancer cells notably promoted the proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis of HLECs; however, these changes were reversed by MAZ51, a VEGFR3 inhibitor. Moreover, TNF-α obviously elevated D2-40 and VEGFC protein expressions in tumor tissues, promoting lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in vivo. Meanwhile, TNF-α markedly upregulated p-AKT and p-ERK expressions in tumor tissues, whereas these changes were reversed by MAZ51.

Conclusion

Collectively, TNF-α could promote tumorigenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and lymphatic metastasis in vitro and in vivo in cervical cancer via activating VEGFC-mediated AKT and ERK pathways. These results may provide new directions for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Cervical Cancer Imaging Features Associated With ADRB1 as a Risk Factor for Cerebral Neurovascular Metastases

Bioinformatics tools are used to create a clinical prediction model for cervical cancer metastasis and to investigate the neurovascular-related genes that are involved in brain metastasis of cervical cancer. One hundred eighteen patients with cervical cancer were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of metastases, and the clinical data and imaging findings of the two groups were compared retrospectively. The nomogram-based model was successfully constructed by taking into account four clinical characteristics (age, stage, N, and T) as well as one imaging characteristic (original_glszm_GrayLevelVariance Rad-score). In patients with cervical cancer, headaches and vomiting were more often reported in the brain metastasis group than in the other metastasis groups. According to the TCGA data, mRNA differential gene expression analysis of patients with cervical cancer revealed an increase in the expression of neurovascular-related gene Adrenoceptor Beta 1 (ADRB1) in the brain metastasis group. An analysis of the correlation between imaging features and ADRB1 expression revealed that ADRB1 expression was significantly higher in the low Rad-score group compared with the high Rad-score group (P = 0.025). Therefore, ADRB1 expression in cervical cancer was correlated with imaging features and was associated as a risk factor for cerebral neurovascular metastases. This study developed a nomogram prediction model for cervical cancer metastasis using age, stage, N, T and original_glszm_GrayLevelVariance. As a risk factor associated with the development of cerebral neurovascular metastases of cervical cancer, ADRB1 expression was significantly higher in brain metastases from cervical cancer.

Tumor-Derived Exosomes Modulate Primary Site Tumor Metastasis

Tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) are actively produced and released by tumor cells and carry messages from tumor cells to healthy cells or abnormal cells, and they participate in tumor metastasis. In this review, we explore the underlying mechanism of action of TDEs in tumor metastasis. TDEs transport tumor-derived proteins and non-coding RNA to tumor cells and promote migration. Transport to normal cells, such as vascular endothelial cells and immune cells, promotes angiogenesis, inhibits immune cell activation, and improves chances of tumor implantation. Thus, TDEs contribute to tumor metastasis. We summarize the function of TDEs and their components in tumor metastasis and illuminate shortcomings for advancing research on TDEs in tumor metastasis.

Exosomes Containing LINC00636 Inhibit MAPK1 through the miR-450a-2-3p Overexpression in Human Pericardial Fluid and Improve Cardiac Fibrosis in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulatory mechanism of miR-450a-2-3p in myocardial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation. For this purpose, the expression profile of GSE55296 was extracted from the GEO database, and differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified. Gene ontology analysis of the target genes of mir-450a-2-3p indicated that there was a regulatory relationship between LINC00636 and miR-450a-2-3p. Further, the expression levels of the analyzed RNAs were confirmed by RT-qPCR. TGF-β1-induced cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used to establish a myocardial fibrosis model and endothelium-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) model in vivo. We hypothesized that exosomes containing LINC00636 regulate the expression of miR-450a-2-3p. LINC00636 was positively correlated with the expression of miR-450a-2-3p. The overexpression of miR-450a-2-3p suppressed the MAPK1 expression in CFs, thereby inhibiting the expression of α-SMA, COL1, and COL3 and preventing CF proliferation. In HUVECs, the miR-450a-2-3p overexpression upregulated the expression of VE-Cadherin (VE-Cad) and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31) by inhibiting the mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) expression, whereas the expression levels of vimentin, COL1, and COL3 decreased. These results indicate that LINC00636, which is present in human pericardial fluid, is an antifibrotic molecule that inhibits MAPK1 through the miR-450a-2-3p overexpression and improves cardiac fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation.

A Novel Identified Long Non-coding RNA, lncRNA MEF2C-AS1, Inhibits Cervical Cancer via Regulation of miR-592/RSPO1

Purpose: Our purpose was to investigate the effect of lncRNA MEF2C antisense RNA 1 (MEF2C-AS1) on cervical cancer and further explore its underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: The proliferation, migration and invasion of CC cells were determined by counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation assay, and transwell assays, respectively. qRT-PCR and western blot were conducted to quantitatively detect the expression of lncRNA MEF2C-AS1, miR-592 and R-spondin1 (RSPO1). Kaplan-Meier survival curve from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) website was used to describe the overall survival. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to search the downstream target of lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 and miR-592. Luciferase reporter assay was conducted to detect the interaction between lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 and miR-592 or miR-592 and RSPO1. Results: The data from GEPIA website showed that lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 expression was down-regulated in CC tissues and also associated with survival rate of CC patients. Moreover, the results of qRT-PCR also showed lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 was lowly expressed in CC cells. Subsequently, we confirmed that overexpression of lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of CC cells. Further research illustrated that lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 was the target of miR-592, and RSPO1 was the downstream target gene of miR-592. Importantly, functional research findings indicated that lncRNA MEF2C-AS1 inhibited CC via suppressing miR-592 by targeting RSPO1. Conclusion: In our study, we demonstrated the functional role of the lncRNA MEF2C-AS1-miR-592-RSPO1 axis in the progression of CC, which provides a latent target for CC treatment.

Long Intergenic Non-Coding RNA LINC00885 Promotes Tumorigenesis of Cervical Cancer by Upregulating MACC1 Expression Through Serving as a Competitive Endogenous RNA for microRNA-432-5p

Purpose

Long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 885 (LINC00885) has been well studied in breast cancer; however, its contribution in cervical cancer remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the detailed functions of LINC00885 in cervical cancer and elucidate the underlying molecular regulation mechanism.

Methods

The expression status of LINC00885 in cervical cancer was determined using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and by searching The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The detailed functions of LINC00885 in cervical cancer cells were confirmed using Cell Counting Kit 8 assay, flow cytometry analysis, Transwell cell migration and invasion assays, and tumor xenograft assay. Mechanistic experiments included bioinformatics prediction, RNA immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assay, and rescue experiments.

Results

LINC00885 was clearly overexpressed in cervical cancer, which was linked with unfavorable clinical outcomes. Functionally, LINC00885 deficiency suppressed cervical cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion but stimulated cell apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, loss of LINC00885 restricted the growth of cervical cancer cells in vivo. Mechanistically, LINC00885 functioned as a competitive endogenous RNA for microRNA-432-5p (miR-432-5p) in cervical cancer. Furthermore, metastasis-associated colon cancer 1 (MACC1) was confirmed as the direct target of miR-432-5p, and LINC00885 could enhance MACC1 expression by sequestering miR-432-5p. Rescue experiments revealed that silencing of miR-432-5p or upregulation of MACC1 expression could effectively counteract the restrained aggressive properties of cervical cancer cells induced by LINC00885 deficiency.

Conclusion

LINC00885 upregulated MACC1 expression in cervical cancer cells by sponging miR-432-5p, thereby promoting cancer progression. The LINC00885/miR-432-5p/MACC1 pathway may help in the identification of potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cervical cancer.

Integrated Profiles Analysis Identified a Coding-Non-Coding Signature for Predicting Lymph Node Metastasis and Prognosis in Cervical Cancer

Accumulating evidence has shown that lymph node metastasis (LNM) is not only an important prognostic factor but also an indicator of the need for postoperative chemoradiotherapy. Therefore, identifying risk factors or molecular markers related to LNM is critical for predicting the prognosis and guiding individualized treatment of patients with cervical cancer. In this study, we used the machine learning-based feature selection approach to identify eight optimal biomarkers from the list of 250 differentially expressed protein-coding genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the TCGA cohort. Then a coding-non-coding signature (named CNC8SIG) was developed using the elastic-net logistic regression approach based on the expression levels of eight optimal biomarkers, which is useful in discriminating patients with LNM from those without LNM in the discovery cohort. The predictive performance of the CNC8SIG was further validated in two independent patient cohorts. Moreover, the CNC8SIG was significantly associated with patient's survival in different patient cohorts. In silico functional analysis suggested that the CNC8SIG-associated mRNAs are enriched in known cancer-related biological pathways such as the Wnt signaling pathway, the Ras signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.