Reduced miR-215 expression predicts poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

ALOX5AP is a new prognostic indicator in acute myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUND

The overexpression of ALOX5AP has been observed in many types of cancer and has been identified as an oncogene. However, its role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not been extensively studied. This study aimed to identify the expression and methylation patterns of ALOX5AP in bone marrow (BM) samples of AML patients, and further explore its clinical significance.

METHODS

Eighty-two de novo AML patients and 20 healthy donors were included in the study. Meanwhile, seven public datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were included to confirm the alteration of ALOX5AP. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to determine the discriminative capacity of ALOX5AP expression to discriminate AML. The prognostic value of ALOX5AP was identified by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. It was further validated in four independent cohorts (n = 1186). Significantly different genes associated with ALOX5AP expression were subsequently compared by LinkedOmics, and Metascape database.

RESULTS

The level of ALOX5AP expression was significantly increased in bone marrow cells of AML patients compared with healthy donors (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis suggested that ALOX5AP expression might be a potential biomarker to discriminate AML from controls. ALOX5AP overexpression was associated with decreased overall survival (OS) in AML according to the TCGA data (P = 0.006), which was validated by other four independent cohorts. DNA methylation levels of ALOX5AP were significantly lower in AML patients compared to normal samples (P < 0.05), as confirmed in the Diseasemeth database and the independent cohort GSE63409. ALOX5AP level was positively associated with genes with proleukemic effects such as PAX2, HOX family, SOX11, H19, and microRNAs that act as oncogenes in leukemia, such as miR125b, miR-93, miR-494, miR-193b, while anti-leukemia-related genes and tumor suppressor microRNAs such as miR-582, miR-9 family and miR-205 were negatively correlated.

CONCLUSION

ALOX5AP overexpression, associated with its hypomethylation, predicts poorer prognosis in AML.

Signature of micro RNA 146a/215 and IL-6/TGF-β levels in a cross-link axis between obesity and colorectal cancer

Numerous malignancies, including colorectal and liver cancers, are ultimately more likely to occur in obese people, and chronic inflammatory conditions have been linked to this association. We are attempting to determine the clinical relevance of the mechanisms controlling the microRNA (miR-215 and miR-146a) expression and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a cross-link axis between obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC). Study participants were divided into four groups: healthy controls; obese without colorectal cancer; non-obese colorectal cancer; and obese with colorectal cancer. Obese and CRC patients had markedly higher expression of IL-6 and TGF-β, as well as tumor biomarkers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA19.9), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. The relative expression of microRNAs (miR-215 and miR-146a) was significantly lower in obese patients with colorectal cancer. BMI and the microRNAs(miR-215 and miR-146a) showed a substantial negative correlation. TGF-β was favorably linked with IL-6, cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and BMI. High levels of TGF-β and IL-6 in the blood indicate how intensely inflammation develops in obesity, which could increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

Identification of MiR-93-5p Targeted Pathogenic Markers in Acute Myeloid Leukemia through Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis and Clinical Validation

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of hematological malignancy with diverse genetic pathogenesis. Identification of the miR-93-5p targeted pathogenic markers could be useful for AML diagnosis and potential therapy. We collected 751 miR-93-5p targeted and AML-related genes by integrating the results of multiple databases and then used the expression profile of TCGA-LAML to construct a coexpression function network of AML WGCNA. Based on the clinical phenotype and module trait relationship, we identified two modules (brown and yellow) as interesting dysfunction modules, which have a significant association with cytogenetics risk and FAB classification systems. GO enrichment and KEGG analysis showed that these modules are mainly involved with cancer-associated pathways, including MAPK signal pathway, p53 signal pathway, JAK-STAT signal pathway, TGF-beta signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, both associated with the occurrence of AML. Besides, using the STRING database, we discovered the top 10 hub genes in each module, including MAPK1, ACTB, RAC1, GRB2, MDM2, ACTR2, IGF1R, CDKN1A, YWHAZ, and YWHAB in the brown module and VEGFA, FGF2, CCND1, FOXO3, IGFBP3, GSF1, IGF2, SLC2A4, PDGFBM, and PIK3R2 in the yellow module. The prognosis analysis result showed that six key pathogens have significantly affected the overall survival and prognosis in AML. Interestingly, VEGF with the most significant regulatory relationship in the yellow modules significantly positively correlated with the clinical phenotype of AML. We used qPCR and ELISA to verify miR-93-5p and VEGF expression in our clinical samples. The results exhibited that miR-93-5p and VEGF were both highly expressed in AML.

Graphene oxide assisted light-up aptamer selection against Thioflavin T for label-free detection of microRNA

We selected an aptamer against a fluorogenic dye called Thioflavin T (ThT). Aptamers are single-stranded DNA that can bind a specific target. We selected the ThT aptamer using graphene oxide assisted SELEX and a low-cost Open qPCR instrument. We optimized, minimized, and characterized the best aptamer candidate against ThT. The aptamer, ThT dye, and the enzymatic strand displacement amplification (SDA) were used in a label-free approach to detect the micro RNA miR-215 in saliva and serum. The aptamer confers higher specificity than intercalating dyes but without expensive covalently modified DNA probes. This isothermal, low-cost, simple method can detect both DNA and RNA. The target, miR-215, was detected with a limit of detection of 2.6 nM.

Overexpression of serum extracellular vesicle microRNA-215-5p is associated with early tumor recurrence and poor prognosis of gastric cancer

OBJECTIVES

Extracellular vesicle microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be reliable candidate biomarkers for clinical applications. However, the clinical application potential of serum EV-miR-215-5p for gastric cancer (GC) remains poorly understood. The goal of our study was to determine the efficacy of serum EV-miR-215-5p in predicting the prognosis of GC.

METHODS

Blood samples were collected from 118 patients with GC, 60 patients with benign gastric disease and BGD and 70 healthy controls. The relative levels of serum EV-miR-215-5p were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

RESULTS

Compared to patients with BGD and normal controls, GC patients exhibited remarkably higher serum EV-miR-215-5p level, especially those with early tumor recurrence (ETR). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that serum EV-miR-215-5p was able to distinguish GC patients from BGD patients or healthy controls and GC patients with ETR from those without ETR. In addition, increased serum EV-miR-215-5p levels were notably correlated with invasive depth, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis. Moreover, serum EV-miR-215-5p levels were greatly decreased after surgical treatment, but increased at the time of ETR. Survival analysis showed that patients with higher serum EV-miR-215-5p had shorter survival. Furthermore, serum EV-miR-215-5p was an independent risk factor for GC.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum EV-miR-215-5p might be a novel biomarker for predicting ETR and prognosis of GC.

Functional mechanisms of miR-192 family in cancer

By growing research on the mechanisms and functions of microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs), the role of these noncoding RNAs gained more attention in healthcare. Due to the remarkable regulatory role of miRNAs, any dysregulation in their expression causes cellular functional impairment. In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that these small molecules contribute to development, cell differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor growth. In many studies, the miR-192 family has been suggested as a potential prognostic and diagnostic biomarker and even as a possible therapeutic target for several cancers. However, the mechanistic effects of the miR-192 family on cancer cells are still controversial. Here, we have reviewed each family member of the miR-192 including miR-192, miR-194, and miR-215, and discussed their mechanistic roles in various cancers.

miR-215-5p decreases migration and invasion of trophoblast cells through regulating CDC6 in preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious disease that occurs after 20 weeks during pregnancy. There are some aberrant microRNAs (miRNAs) that are associated with the etiology of PE. As discovered by scholars, there was an increased level of miR-215-5p in plasma of PE patients compared with the control group; nonetheless, there is still no knowledge of the mechanism of miR-215-5p in PE. We carried out the comparison of the expression levels of miR-215-5p, and the supposed target gene cell division cycle 6 (CDC6) in 30 placentas from PE patients as well as 30 placentas from normal pregnant women. The verification of the impacts of miR-215-5p and CDC6 was carried out by functional assays in HTR-8/SVneo cells transfected with the miR-215-5p mimic or siR-CDC6. As indicated by findings, miR-215-5p showed an apparent increase; conversely, CDC6 was inhibited in the experiment group. The upregulation of miR-215-5p inhibited both the migration and invasive potential of trophoblasts, besides decreasing the G1-S transition and downregulating CDC6 in HTR-8/SVneo cells; nonetheless, it did not significantly impact the cell proliferation. Furthermore, siR-CDC6 replicated the functions of the miR-215-5p mimic. Also, the miR-215-5p mimic and siR-CDC6 both decreased the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) with additional E-cadherin level and decreased the expressions of N-cadherin as well as vimentin in trophoblast cells. To conclude, miR-215-5p decreased not only the migration but also the invasion of trophoblasts through regulating CDC6, which indicated that miR-215-5p might be associated with the etiology of PE. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: More and more attention has been paid on the roles of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of PE. However, there is no study of miR-215-5p in the etiology of PE. We first investigated the mechanism of miR-215-5p in placental tissues and HTR-8/SVneo cells. It was suggested that miR-215-5p decreased the abilities of migration and invasion of trophoblasts through regulating CDC6 in PE. miR-215-5p might be used as an target for the early diagnosis and treatment of PE in the future.

Plasma miR-32 levels in non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy can predict the effectiveness and prognosis of chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that microRNA-32 (miRNA-32) is an exosome microRNA that affects the proliferation and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. In this study, our goal was to assess the expression of plasma microRNA-32 and its potential as a biomarker to predict the tumor response and survival of patients with NSCLC undergoing platinum-based chemotherapy.

METHODS

Plasma microRNA-32 levels before and after 1 cycle of platinum-based chemotherapy in 43 patients with NSCLC were measured using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (qPCR). In addition, the demographic and survival data of the patients were collected for analysis.

RESULTS

A significant correlation was observed between the changes in microRNA-32 levels before and after 1 chemotherapy cycle and the treatment response (P = .035). In addition, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the level of microRNA-32 after 1 chemotherapy cycle was significantly correlated with the prognosis of patients. The median progression-free survival (P = .025) and overall survival (P = .015) of patients with high microRNA-32 levels (≥7.73) after 1 chemotherapy cycle was 9 and 21 months, respectively. In contrast, the median survival of patients with low microRNA-32 levels (<7.73) was 5 and 10 months, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The plasma levels of microRNA-32 correlated with the efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy and survival, indicating that microRNA-32 may be useful for predicting the effectiveness of platinum-based chemotherapy and prognosis in NSCLC.

Circ-Foxo3 is positively associated with the Foxo3 gene and leads to better prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia patients

Background

The Foxo3 gene, belonging to the forkhead family, is one of the classes of transcription factors characterized by a forkhead DNA-binding domain, which usually considered being a cancer suppressor gene. Circ-Foxo3 is a circular structure which connects the 3’end to the 5’end. Scholars detected that circ-Foxo3 could compete with Foxo3 for binding to some miRNAs.

Methods

In this study, we will test the expression of Foxo3 and circ-Foxo3 in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients to explore the relationship between Foxo3 gene and circ-Foxo3. All the de novo AML samples and normal control samples was measured by real-time quantitative PCR. A receiver operating characteristic curve was conducted to differentiate AML patients from control people. Association of Foxo3 expression and overall survival was conducted by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

Results

We found that the expression of Foxo3 gene in de novo patients was significantly lower than control samples (P = 0.009). Meanwhile, circ-Foxo3 also expressed lower in de novo AML patients than in control samples (P = 0.040). In different classifications, this trend could be observed more remarkably. In non-M3 patients, the Foxo3 high patients’ survival time was longer than Foxo3 low patients (P = 0.002). Besides, in non-favorable risk groups, patients with low expression of Foxo3 had longer survival time than Foxo3 high patients (P = 0.004). Furthermore, in normal Karyotypic patients, the overall survival time of patients with high-expressed Foxo3 was significantly longer than those with low expression (P = 0.034). Besides, Pearson analysis was also conducted between these two genes in AML patients. Results revealed that they were positively correlated (R = 0.63, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

In conclusion, we found that low expression of circ-Foxo3 and Foxo3 were frequent in AML patients, and patients with high expression of Foxo3 often had a trend of better prognosis.

Elevated SPINK2 gene expression is a predictor of poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has a high mortality rate and its clinical management remains challenging. The aim of the present study was to identify the hub genes involved in AML. In order to do so, the gene expression data of the GSE9476 database, including 26 AML and 10 normal samples, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were then identified via bioinformatics analysis. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses were performed on DEGs. Furthermore, the most upregulated genes were selected for further investigation in the Oncomine, gene expression profiling interactive analysis and UALCAN datasets. In total, 1,744 upregulated and 1,956 downregulated genes were detected. The GO and KEGG results revealed that upregulated genes were enriched in metabolic processes, while downregulated genes were associated with the immune response. Serine protease inhibitor Kazal-type 2 (SPINK2) ranked first among all the upregulated genes and was regarded as a hub gene in the development of AML. The overexpression of SPINK2 was validated in 12 patients with AML from the Linyi Central Hospital and in data from the Oncomine and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. Furthermore, the UALCAN and GEPIA datasets demonstrated that patients with high SPINK2 levels had shorter survival times. In conclusion, the results from the present study revealed that the SPINK2 gene was upregulated in patients with AML and that elevated SPINK2 expression was associated with poor outcomes in these patients.

High expression of microRNA-500 is associated with poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

MicroRNA-500 (miR-500) is a potential prognostic biomarker in a number of different types of cancer, such as prostate cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to explore the clinical implications of miR-500 expression status in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that had received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). miR-500 expression status and clinical data were obtained from 74 patients with AML in the The Cancer Genome Atlas database receiving allo-HSCT. Patients with low expression level of miR-500 (miR-500_low) were significantly more likely to present with a French-American-British classification M2 subtype (P=0.003), and less likely to have the M5 subtype (P=0.040) compared with patients with high expression levels (miR-500_high). miR-500_low patients were associated with low-risk AML (P=0.003) and core-binding factor subunit b-myosin heavy chain 11 translocation mutation (P=0.021). There was a significant difference in nucleophosmin 1 (P=0.009), NRAS proto-oncogene GTPase/KRAS proto-oncogene GTPase (P=0.047) and PHD finger protein 6 (P=0.040) expression levels between the two groups. miR-500_high patients had a decreased overall survival (OS) time compared with the low expression group (P=0.035). Multivariate analysis revealed that miR-500 expression significantly affected OS time independent of other classical prognostic factors, such as age and common mutations. The analysis of survival curves further substantiated this result. The results obtained in the current study suggested that miR-500 may be a suitable prognostic marker for patients with AML receiving allo-HSCT.

Diagnostic and prognostic significance of serum miR-203 in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

MicroRNAs play important roles in the initiation and progression of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study aimed to detect serum miR-203 expression levels in AML and explore its potential clinical significance. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to measure the serum miR-203 levels in 134 patients with AML and 70 healthy controls. The results demonstrated that serum miR-203 expression was significantly reduced in AML patients compared with healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis revealed miR-203 could distinguish AML cases from normal controls. Low serum miR-203 levels were associated with worse clinical features, as well as poorer overall survival and relapse free survival of AML patients. Moreover, multivariate analysis confirmed low serum miR-203 expression to be an independent unfavorable prognostic predictor for AML. The bioinformatics analysis showed that the downstream genes and pathways of miR-203 was closely associated with tumorigenesis. Downregulation of miR-203 in AML cell lines upregulated the expression levels of oncogenic promoters such as CREB1, SRC and HDAC1. Thus, these findings demonstrated that serum miR-203 might be a promising biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of AML.

Clinical significances and diagnostic utilities of both miR-215 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen-IgM versus alpha-fetoprotein in Egyptian patients with hepatitis C virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. It has been widely established that the early detection of HCC enables more treatment options with improvements in prognosis and survival.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of both circulating miR-215 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen-IgM (SCCA-IgM) as serum biomarkers for HCC by examining their diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and predictive values in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced HCC patients.

Subjects and methods

This study included 60 patients with HCV-related HCC. In addition, 60 patients with HCV-related liver cirrhosis (LC) and 60 apparently healthy subjects were involved, and served as diseased and healthy control groups, respectively. The relative expression levels of miR-215 were detected using quantitative real-time PCR. SCCA-IgM levels in serum were measured by enzyme immunoassay. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to calculate the diagnostic accuracy against alpha-fetoprotein (AFP).

Results

Relative miR-215 expression levels increased the most in HCC patients compared to that in healthy or diseased controls (P<0.001). Serum concentration of SCCA-IgM was significantly higher in HCC group than that in the two control groups. We performed multivariate analysis using AFP level, focal lesion size, and portal vein thrombosis as independent variables. ROC curves showed that the optimum diagnostic miR-215 cutoff value for identifying HCC patients from cirrhotic ones was 417 (sensitivity, 97%; specificity, 91%) and for SCCA-IgM was 95 AU/mL (sensitivity, 92%; specificity, 98%). Moreover, the superiority of both miR-215 and SCCA-IgM to AFP is obvious in our study and this superiority is more evident in distinguishing HCC with AFP levels <200 ng/mL and HCC patients with small-sized focal lesions from cirrhotic patients.

Conclusion

Cell-free miR-215 and serum SCCA-IgM could be used for early diagnosis of HCC either each one as a single marker or with AFP complement measurement.

High expression of MiR-98 is a good prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with chemotherapy alone

It has been demonstrated that microRNA-98 (miR-98) is dysregulated in multiple types of solid tumors, but its expression and impact in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is unclear. To explore the prognostic role of miR-98 in AML, 164 AML patients with the miR-98 expression data were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and enrolled in this study. First, patients were divided into chemotherapy-only (chemotherapy) group and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) group. Each group was then divided in two groups by the median expression level of miR-98. In chemotherapy group, high miR-98 expression was associated with longer event-free survival (EFS, P = 0.003) and overall survival (OS, P = 0.004), but in allo-HSCT group, EFS and OS were not significantly different between high and low miR-98 expressers. Second, All patients were divided in two groups by the median expression level of miR-98. In low miR-98 expressers, those treated with allo-HSCT had longer EFS (P = 0.001) and OS (P < 0.001) than chemotherapy, but in high miR-98 expressers, survival was independent from treatment modalities. Gene ontology enrichment analysis indicated that the genes associated with miR-98 expression were mainly concentrated in “definitive hemopoiesis”, “negative regulation of myeloid cell differentiation” and “signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells” pathways. In conclusion, our results indicated that high miR-98 expression confers good prognosis in AML patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Patients with low miR-98 expression may benefit from allo-HSCT.

MicroRNA in leukemia: Tumor suppressors and oncogenes with prognostic potential

Leukemia is known as a progressive malignant disease, which destroys the blood-forming organs and results in adverse effects on the proliferation and development of leukocytes and their precursors in the blood and bone marrow. There are four main classes of leukemia including acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, myelogenous leukemia, and lymphocytic leukemia. Given that a variety of internal and external factors could be associated with the initiation and progression of different types of leukemia. One of the important factors is epigenetic regulators such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (ncRNA). MiRNAs are short ncRNAs which act as tumor suppressor (i.e., miR-15, miR-16, let-7, and miR-127) or oncogene (i.e., miR-155, miR-17-92, miR-21, miR-125b, miR-93, miR-143-p3, miR-196b, and miR-223) in leukemia. It has been shown that deregulation of these molecules are associated with the initiation and progression of leukemia. Hence, miRNAs could be used as potential therapeutic candidates in the treatment of patients with leukemia. Moreover, increasing evidence revealed that miRNAs could be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in monitoring patients in early stages of disease or after received chemotherapy regimen. It seems that identification and development of new miRNAs could pave to the way to the development new therapeutic platforms for patients with leukemia. Here, we summarized various miRNAs as tumor suppressor and oncogene which could be introduced as therapeutic targets in treatment of leukemia.

Upregulation of lncRNA CCAT2 predicts poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and is correlated with leukemic cell proliferation

Increasing data have shown that the dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is associated with a variety of human cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Colon cancer-associated transcript-2 (CCAT2) gene encodes an lncRNA CCAT2 whose over-activation was observed in many human solid tumors. However the expression and clinical significance of CCAT2 in AML have not been identified. In the study, we found that CCAT2 expression levels in patients with AML were significantly increased compared with healthy individuals. The patients with highly expressed CCAT2 had higher white blood cells than those patients with low CCAT2. The incidence of FLT3/ITD mutation in the patients with high CCAT2 expression was significantly higher than in those patients with low CCAT2 expression. High CCAT2 expression was correlated with more monosomal karyotype and poor risk stratification. Furthermore, patients with high CCAT2 had significantly shorter overall survival times than those patients with low CCAT2. Univariate and multivariate Cox's analyses indicated a poor prognostic value of high CCAT2 in AML patients. Moreover, in vitro assay revealed that overexpression of CCAT2 promoted KG-1 cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest at the S phase, whereas CCAT2 knockdown inhibited proliferation by inducing cell-cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. In conclusion, our study demonstrates for the first time that CCAT2 is highly expressed in AML patients, and it associates with poor prognosis and leukemic cell proliferation.

Overexpression of lncRNA PANDAR predicts adverse prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia

Background and purpose

Abundant studies have shown that lncRNA PANDAR plays an oncogenic role in human solid tumors. Although abnormal expression of PANDAR has been well investigated in solid tumors, it was rarely studied in hematologic diseases. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the PANDAR expression level and its clinical significance in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Materials and methods

For detecting the expression level of PANDAR in 119 AML patients and 26 controls, real-time quantitative PCR was used in this study. The prognostic values were evaluated by using Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox regression analyses, and logistic regression analysis.

Results

PANDAR was significantly overexpressed in AML and might be a promising biomarker which could distinguish AML from normal samples (P<0.001). Patients with high expression of PANDAR (PANDAR ^high) were older and showed higher bone marrow blasts than patients in PANDAR ^low group (P=0.029 and 0.032, respectively). Significant differences between these groups were also detected regarding risk group and karyotype finding (P=0.009 and 0.041, respectively). Importantly, PANDAR ^high patients presented a significant lower complete remission rate compared to PANDAR ^low patients (P<0.001). Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that PANDAR ^high patients had shorter overall survival compared to PANDAR ^low patients observing the whole AML cohort, and also in the non-M3 group of patients (P<0.001 and P=0.005, respectively). Multivariate analysis of Cox and logistic regression analysis confirmed that high PANDAR expression was an independent unfavorable risk factor for overall survival and complete remission in both observed patient groups.

Conclusion

These results revealed that PANDAR was overexpressed in AML, and that higher PANDAR expression was associated with poor clinical outcome. Our study therefore suggests that PANDAR expression is a promising biomarker for prognostic prediction for AML.

Overexpression of miR‑21 is involved in acute monocytic leukemia‑associated angiogenesis by targeting IL‑12

Angiogenesis is important in pathophysiological processes, including the pathogenesis of acute monocytic leukemia (AML). MicroRNA‑21 (miR‑21) is overexpressed and exhibits oncogenic activity in cancer. However, the biological mechanism underlying the effect of miR‑21 in AML remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, the expression levels of miR‑21 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined in 26 patients with AML and 28 healthy individuals. The secretion of VEGF was also measured following the transfection of THP‑1 cells with miR‑21 mimic or inhibitor. The supernatants of the THP‑1 cells, which were transfected with miR‑21 mimic, inhibitor or small interfering RNA (si)VEGF, respectively, were used to incubate human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), following which tube formation of the HUVECs was measured. miR‑21 targets were predicted using a biological target prediction website and confirmed using a luciferase assay. The effects of interleukin (IL)‑12 were investigated by examining the tube formation of HUVECs and the secretion of VEGF following recombinant human (rh) IL‑12 pretreatment. The results revealed that miR‑21 and VEGF expression was significantly increased in the peripheral blood monocytes of the patients, compared with the healthy controls. There was negative correlation between the expression of IL‑12 and miR‑21 in the serum of patients with AML. Furthermore, supernatant VEGF levels from the miR‑21 mimic‑transfected THP‑1 cells were increased, whereas a decreasing trend was observed in the miR‑21 inhibitor group. The angiogenic ability of the HUVECs pretreated with supernatant from the THP‑1 cells transfected with miR‑21 mimic was higher, and was lower in THP‑1 cells co‑transfected with miR‑21 mimic and siVEGF, compared with the miR‑21 mimic only group. A luciferase assay demonstrated that IL‑12 was the direct target of miR‑21, and the level of IL‑12 in the supernatant of THP‑1 cells transfected with miR‑21 mimic was increased. IL‑12 pretreatment increased VEGF expression and angiogenic ability in HUVECs. The inactivation of miR‑21 or activation of its target gene may be a potential therapeutic strategy in human AML.

MicroRNA-215 suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasion of non-small cell lung carcinoma cells through the downregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-16 expression

The present study investigated the expression of microRNA (miR)-215 in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) at tissue and cellular levels, as well as its biological functions and mechanism of action. A total of 56 patients with NSCLC were included in the present study. NSCLC tissues and tumor-adjacent normal tissues were resected and collected. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the expression of miR-215. Following transfection with miR-215 mimics, A549 cell proliferation, migration and invasion were determined using a Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assay. Western blotting was employed to measure the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-16 protein. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was conducted to determine the existence of a direct interaction between miR-215 and the MMP-16 gene. Reduced expression of miR-215 in NSCLC was closely associated with lymphatic metastasis and TNM staging. Overexpression of miR-215 inhibited the proliferation of A549 cells in vitro. Upregulated expression of miR-215 inhibited the migration and invasion of A549 cells in vitro. miR-215 exerted its biological functions possibly by regulating the expression of MMP-16. Elevated expression of MMP-16 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 cells. miR-215 regulated the proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 cells by binding with the seed 3′-untranslated region of MMP-16 mRNA. The present study demonstrates that reduced expression of miR-215 in NSCLC is negatively associated with lymphatic metastasis and TNM staging. In addition, miR-215 acts as a tumor suppressor gene by inhibiting the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells via the downregulation of MMP-16 expression.

The long noncoding RNA PCAT-1 links the microRNA miR-215 to oncogene CRKL-mediated signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) PCAT-1 resides in the chromosome 8q24 cancer-risk locus and acts as a vital oncogene during tumorigenesis and progression. However, how PCAT-1 is post-transcriptionally regulated, for example, by small ncRNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) is largely unknown. Here, we report how miRNAs regulate PCAT-1 expression and also investigate the biological significance of this regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that miR-215, a P53-inducible miRNA, is a key regulator of PCAT-1 expression in HCC and identified an interaction between miR-215 and PCAT-1 in dual luciferase reporter gene assays. We also found that post-transcriptional silencing of PCAT-1 by miR-215 or PCAT-1 siRNAs significantly inhibited proliferation of HCC cells and, conversely, that inhibition of endogenous miR-215 up-regulated PCAT-1 expression and promoted cell viability. The tumor-suppressing role of miR-215 was further confirmed in an in vivo mouse HCC xenograft model. Of note, gene profiling assays suggested that the kinase CRK-like proto-oncogene, adaptor protein (CRKL), is a potential downstream target of the miR-215-PCAT-1 axis in HCC, and we demonstrated that CRKL silencing significantly suppresses cell proliferation. Taken together and considering the essential role of CRKL in cancer cells, we propose that the TP53-miR-215-PCAT-1-CRKL axis might represent an important regulatory pathway in HCC. In summary, our results highlight the involvement of several ncRNAs in HCC and thus provide critical insights into the molecular pathways operating in this malignancy.

MicroRNA-215 targets NOB1 and inhibits growth and invasion of epithelial ovarian cancer

MicroRNA-215 (miR-215) has been showed to play crucial roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression in many types of cancer. However, its biological function and underlying mechanism in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains greatly unknown. The aims of this study were to investigate biological role and underlying mechanism of miR-215 in EOC. Here, we found that miR-215 expression was significantly decreased in EOC tissues or cell lines compared with adjacent normal tissues or normal ovarian cell line. Decreased miR-215 expression was significantly associated with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and lymph node metastasis. Function analysis revealed that overexpression of miR-215 using miR-215 mimic significantly inhibit EOC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion in vitro. as well as suppress tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, we identified ribosome assembly factor NIN/RPN12 binding protein (NOB1) as a direct targets for miR-215 binding, resulting in suppression it expression, which in turn activated the MAPK signaling pathway. In clinical EOC specimens, NOB1 expression was upregulated, and inversely correlated with miR-215 expression (r = -0.675, P<0.001). Overexpression of NOB1 effectively rescued inhibition effect on EOC cells by induced miR-215 overexpression. Taken together, our findings suggested that miR-215 suppressed EOC growth and invasion by targeting NOB1.