The Tumor Suppressor Roles and Mechanisms of MiR-491 in Human Cancers

Dynamic responses during early development of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius to CO2-driven ocean acidification: A microRNA-mRNA integrated analysis

To explore the dynamic molecular responses to CO2-driven ocean acidification (OA) during the early developmental stages of sea urchins, gametes of Strongylocentrotus intermedius were fertilized and developed to the four-armed larva stage in either natural seawater (as a control; pHNBS = 7.99 ± 0.01) or acidified conditions (ΔpHNBS = -0.3, -0.4, and - 0.5 units) according to the prediction for ocean pH by the end of this century. Specimens from five developmental stages (fertilization, cleavage, blastula, prism, and four-armed larva) were collected and comparative microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA transcriptome analyses were performed. The results showed that 1) a total of 22,224 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 51 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified in the OA-treated groups compared with the control group. 2) The numbers of both DEGs and DEMs were the largest at the blastula stage, indicating dramatic changes in gene expression. 3) Five "miR-1/DEG" modules were identified as potential biomarkers reflecting the response of sea urchins to OA during the early developmental period. 4) The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was a key pathway involved in the response of S. intermedius to OA in its early developmental stages. This study deepens our understanding of the dynamic molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying sea urchin responses to CO2-driven OA.

Areca catechu L. Extract Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Tumor Growth by Modulating Cell Apoptosis and Autophagy

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common cancer globally, and chemotherapy often causes severe complications, necessitating effective drugs with minimal side effects. As Areca catechu L. extract (ACE) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine that contains numerous active compounds with anticancer effects, in this study, the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to determine ACE's effect on CRC cell lines, revealing that it significantly inhibits CoLo320DM and HCT116 cells. In vivo experiments with NU-Foxn1nu mice indicated that ACE inhibits tumor growth, while a flow cytometry assay revealed that higher ACE concentrations increased cell apoptosis and ROS levels. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) showed that ACE increases the fold changes in apoptosis, DNA damage, and autophagy-related genes while inhibiting the fold changes in cell proliferation and Wnt signaling pathway genes. We conducted Western blotting to confirm these findings. Overall, ACE demonstrates potential as a drug candidate by promoting apoptosis and autophagy, and significantly reducing cell viability and tumor growth, thus offering a new approach for effective colorectal cancer treatment with minimal side effects.

The suppression of OTUD7B by miR-491-5p enhances the ubiquitination of VEGFA to suppress vascular mimicry in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the main type of lung cancer with high morbidity and mortality. Vascular mimicry (VM), a distinct microcirculation model in tumors that differs from classical angiogenesis, is strongly associated with poor clinical outcomes in cancer patients. miR-491-5p has been reported to prevent NSCLC progression, including proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. However, the effect and mechanism of miR-491-5p on VM have not been studied in NSCLC.

METHODS

The expression of miR-491-5p was detected by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qPCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining assays were used to examine cell growth. Tube formation assay was used to assess VM in NSCLC cells. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot were performed to detect protein expression. Immunoprecipitation was used to confirm the interaction between OTU deubiquitinase 7B (OTUD7B) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), and the level of ubiquitinated VEGFA. A nude mouse tumorigenesis model was used to evaluate the carcinogenic capacity of NSCLC cells in vivo. Luciferase reporter assay was used to identify the potential target of miR-491-5p.

RESULTS

MiR-491-5p was found downregulated in NSCLC tissues, and miR-491-5p deficiency was strongly associated with angiogenesis. miR-491-5p mimics suppressed cell viability, migration, and VM. Conversely, an inhibitor of miR-491-5p had the opposite effect. OTUD7B, a deubiquitinase, was identified as a downstream target of miR-491-5p. A luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-491-5p directly binds to the 3'UTR of OTUD7B. Moreover, mimics of miR-491-5p caused a significant reduction in the OTUD7B protein in NSCLC cells, and an inhibitor of miR-491-5p stabilized the OTUD7B protein. In addition, overexpression of OTUD7B promoted cell proliferation, migration, and VM, similar to the effects of an inhibitor of miR-491-5p. Further exploration revealed that OTUD7B interacts with VEGFA and that the miR-491-5p-OTUD7B axis modulates the ubiquitination of VEGFA. The rescue experiment indicated that OTUD7B compromised the inhibitory effects of miR-491-5p on the cellular function of NSCLC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our study first proved that miR-491-5p impedes VM by suppressing OUTD7B and promoting the ubiquitination of VEGFA. The miR-491-5p/OTUD7B axis may be a novel target for antiangiogenic therapy in NSCLC.

Circulating microRNAs as Potential Biomarkers in Pancreatic Cancer-Advances and Challenges

There is an urgent unmet need for robust and reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of response to specific treatments of many aggressive and deadly cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, and liquid biopsy-based miRNA profiling has the potential for this. MiRNAs are a subset of non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of a multitude of genes post-transcriptionally and thus are potential diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers and have also emerged as potential therapeutics. Because miRNAs are involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of their target mRNAs via repressing gene expression, defects in miRNA biogenesis pathway and miRNA expression perturb the expression of a multitude of oncogenic or tumor-suppressive genes that are involved in the pathogenesis of various cancers. As such, numerous miRNAs have been identified to be downregulated or upregulated in many cancers, functioning as either oncomes or oncosuppressor miRs. Moreover, dysregulation of miRNA biogenesis pathways can also change miRNA expression and function in cancer. Profiling of dysregulated miRNAs in pancreatic cancer has been shown to correlate with disease diagnosis, indicate optimal treatment options and predict response to a specific therapy. Specific miRNA signatures can track the stages of pancreatic cancer and hold potential as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive markers, as well as therapeutics such as miRNA mimics and miRNA inhibitors (antagomirs). Furthermore, identified specific miRNAs and genes they regulate in pancreatic cancer along with downstream pathways can be used as potential therapeutic targets. However, a limited understanding and validation of the specific roles of miRNAs, lack of tissue specificity, methodological, technical, or analytical reproducibility, harmonization of miRNA isolation and quantification methods, the use of standard operating procedures, and the availability of automated and standardized assays to improve reproducibility between independent studies limit bench-to-bedside translation of the miRNA biomarkers for clinical applications. Here I review recent findings on miRNAs in pancreatic cancer pathogenesis and their potential as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive markers.

The importance of hsa-miR-28 in human malignancies

MicroRNA production in tumorigenesis is dysregulated by a variety of processes, such as proliferation and removal of microRNA genes, aberrant transcriptional regulation of microRNAs, disrupted epigenetic alterations, and failures in the miRNA biogenesis machinery. Under some circumstances, miRNAs may act as tumorigenic and maybe anti-oncogenes. Tumor aspects such as maintaining proliferating signals, bypassing development suppressors, delaying apoptosis, stimulating metastasis and invasion, and promoting angiogenesis have been linked to dysfunctional and dysregulated miRNAs. MiRNAs have been found as possible biomarkers for human cancer in a great deal of research, which requires additional evaluation and confirmation. It is known that hsa-miR-28 can function as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in many malignancies, and it does this by modulating the expression of several genes and the downstream signaling network. MiR-28-5p and miR-28-3p, which originate from the same RNA hairpin precursor miR-28, have essential roles in a variety of cancers. This review outlines the function and mechanisms of miR-28-3p and miR-28-5p in human cancers and illustrates the miR-28 family's potential utility as a diagnostic biomarker for prognosis and early detection of cancers.

Tumor Suppressive Role of MicroRNAs in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancers are highly aggressive, a heterogeneous form of breast cancer with a high re-occurrence rate that further lacks an efficient treatment strategy and prognostic marker. The tumor microenvironment of the disease comprises cancer-associated fibroblasts, cancer stem cells, immunological molecules, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and a metastatic microenvironment that contributes to disease progression and metastasis to distant sites. Emerging evidence indicated that miRNA clusters would be of clinical utility as they exert an oncogenic or tumor suppressor role in TNBC. The present review article aims to highlight the therapeutic significance of miRNA in targeting the above-mentioned signaling cascades and modulating the intracellular crosstalk in the tumor microenvironment of TNBC. Prognostic implications of miRNAs to depict disease-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival, relapse-free survival, and overall survival outcome were also unveiled.