Role of long non-coding RNA NEAT1 in the prognosis of prostate cancer patients

The role of lncRNA NEAT1 in human cancer chemoresistance

Chemotherapy is currently one of the most effective methods in clinical cancer treatment. However, chemotherapy resistance is an important reason for poor chemotherapy efficacy and prognosis, which has become an urgent problem to be solved in the field of cancer chemotherapy. Therefore, it is very important to deeply study and analyze the mechanism of cancer chemotherapy resistance and its regulatory factors. Long non-coding RNA nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (LncRNA NEAT1) has been shown to be closely associated with chemotherapy resistance in cancer. NEAT1 induces cancer cell resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs by regulating cell apoptosis, cell cycle, drug transport and metabolism, DNA damage repair, EMT, autophagy, cancer stem cell characteristics, and metabolic reprogramming. This indicates that NEAT1 may be an important target to overcome chemotherapy resistance and is expected to be a potential biomarker to predict the effect of chemotherapy. This article summarizes the expression characteristics and clinical characteristics of NEAT1 in different cancers, and deeply discusses the regulatory role of NEAT1 in cancer chemotherapy resistance and related molecular mechanisms, aiming to clarify NEAT1 as a new target to overcome cancer chemotherapy resistance and the feasibility of chemotherapy sensitizers, with a view to providing a potential therapeutic direction for overcoming the dilemma of cancer resistance in the future.

NEAT1 promotes the progression of prostate cancer by targeting the miR-582-5p/EZH2 regulatory axis

In several forms of malignant tumors, nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), a lncRNA, has been identified to play an important role. NEAT1's regulation patterns in prostate cancer (PCa) are, however, mainly unknown. This study was aimed to evaluate and study the roles and regulatory mechanisms of NEAT1 in PCa. NEAT1, miR-582-5p, and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) expression were detected by qRT-PCR. The PCa cells' invasive, migrative, and proliferative activities in vitro were assessed using transwell migration and invasion, wound-healing, cloning creation, and CCK-8 assays. In the present study, impaired proliferative, migrative, and invasive capacities were observed in the NEAT1-deficient PCa (PC3 and LNCaP) cells. Further mechanistic studies found that NEAT1 performs its function through sponging miR-582-5p. Furthermore, EZH2 was confirmed to be the downstream target gene of miRNA-582-5p. The impaired progression caused by NEAT1 deficiency in PCa cells was significantly restored by the inhibition of miR-582-5p, while these effects were largely abolished by the deletion of EZH2. Finally, the xenograft nude mouse model showed that knocking down the expression of NEAT1 suppressed the growth of PCa. In conclusion, NEAT1 promotes the progression of PCa by controlling the miR-582-5p and miR-582-5p-mediated EZH2.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10616-023-00612-z.

Genetic variation of six specific SNPs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among Chinese population

BACKGROUND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic bronchitis (or) emphysema with a high disability and fatality rate. This study aimed to explore the correlation between the six selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the risk of COPD in the Chinese population.

METHODS

The Agena MassARRAY platform was used to select six SNPs from 629 subjects for genotyping. The correlation between SNPs and COPD risk was evaluated using calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was performed to analyze the impact of SNP interactions on COPD risk. Multiple comparisons were performed using Bonferroni- correction.

RESULTS

Our results indicated that rs4719841 and rs7934083 variants were associated with a reduced risk of COPD. The analysis results of age, gender and non-smokers showed that rs4719841 and rs7934083 were associated with reducing the risk of COPD. In addition, the results showed that the genetic models of rs4719841, rs7934083 and rs7780562 were related to the forced vital capacity, respiratory rate per second, and respiratory rate / forced vital capacity of COPD patients, respectively. The results of the MDR analysis showed that the three-locus model (rs4719841, rs7934083, and rs78750958) is the best for COPD risk assessment.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that rs4719841 and rs7934083 are associated with the risk of COPD in the Chinese population, which provides some insights for early screening, prevention, and diagnosis of COPD in high-risk populations.

Effect and Mechanism of lncRNA-PCMF1/hsa-miR-137/Twist1 Axis Involved in the EMT Regulation of Prostate Cancer Cells

The metastasis is a major reason for the poor prognosis of the patients with prostate cancer (PC). Currently, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the basic method for the treatment of PC regardless of surgery or drug treatments. However, ADT therapy is generally not recommended for patients with advanced/metastatic PC. Herein, we report for the first time a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-PCMF1 which promotes the progression of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in PC cells. Our data demonstrated that PCMF1 in metastatic PC tissues increased significantly compared to non-metastatic specimens. Mechanism research showed that PCMF1 could competitively bind to hsa-miR-137 instead of the 3' -Untranslated Region (UTR) of Twist Family BHLH Transcription Factor 1 (Twist1) by acting as an endogenous miRNA sponge. Furthermore, we found that silence of PCMF1 effectively blocked the EMT in PC cells by indirectly suppressing Twist1 protein mediated by hsa-miR-137 at post-transcriptional level. In summary, our research shows that PCMF1 promotes the EMT of PC cells by causing the functional inactivation of hsa-miR-137 on Twist1 protein, which is an independent risk factor of PC. PCMF1 knockdown combined with hsa-miR-137 expression is a promising PC-targeted therapy. Furthermore, PCMF1 is also expected to act as a useful marker for predicting malignant changes and assessing the prognosis of PC patients.

The role of long noncoding RNAs in liquid-liquid phase separation

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are among the most well-characterized noncoding RNAs, have attracted much attention due to their regulatory functions and potential therapeutic options in many types of disease. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), the formation of droplet condensates, is involved in various cellular processes, but the molecular interactions of lncRNAs in LLPS are unclear. In this review, we describe the research development on LLPS, including descriptions of various methods established to identify LLPS, summarize the physiological and pathological functions of LLPS, identify the molecular interactions of lncRNAs in LLPS, and present the potential applications of leveraging LLPS in the clinic. The aim of this review is to update the knowledge on the association between LLPS and lncRNAs, which might provide a new direction for the treatment of LLPS-mediated disease.

Long non-coding RNA DNMBP-AS1 promotes prostate cancer development by regulating LCLAT1

Prostate cancer (PCa) is as a serious threat to male's health around the world. Recent studies have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) occupy an important position in various human cancers. However, the function and mechanism of lncRNA DNMBP antisense RNA 1 (DNMBP-AS1) in PCa is rarely investigated. RT-qPCR analysis was used to test gene expression. CCK-8, colony formation, EdU staining and transwell assays were conducted to assess the function of DNMBP-AS1 on PCa cell behaviors. RNA pull down, RIP and luciferase reporter assays were implemented to verify the mechanism of DNMBP-AS1. DNMBP-AS1 was obviously up-regulated in PCa cell lines. Functionally, DNMBP-AS1 knockdown weakened cell proliferation, migration and invasion of PCa. Mechanistically, DNMBP-AS1 sponged microRNA-6766-3p (miR-6766-3p) to regulate lysocardiolipin acyltransferase 1 (LCLAT1) expression. Furthermore, DNMBP-AS1 could stabilize LCLAT1 expression by recruiting ELAV like RNA binding protein 1 (ELAVL1). Consequently, rescue assays demonstrated that DNMBP-AS1 regulated PCa cell proliferation, migration and invasion through enhancing LCLAT1 expression. Collectively, we elucidated the function and regulatory mechanism of DNMBP-AS1 and provided the first evidence of DNMBP-AS1 as a driver for PCa.

Importance of long non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regulatory transcripts with essential roles in the pathogenesis of almost all types of cancers, including prostate cancer. They can act as either oncogenic lncRNAs or tumor suppressor ones in prostate cancer. Small nucleolar RNA host genes are among the mostly assessed oncogenic lncRNAs in this cancer. PCA3 is an example of oncogenic lncRNAs that has been approved as a diagnostic marker in prostate cancer. A number of well-known oncogenic lncRNAs in other cancers such as DANCR, MALAT1, CCAT1, PVT1, TUG1 and NEAT1 have also been shown to act as oncogenes in prostate cancer. On the other hand, LINC00893, LINC01679, MIR22HG, RP1-59D14.5, MAGI2-AS3, NXTAR, FGF14-AS2 and ADAMTS9-AS1 are among lncRNAs that act as tumor suppressors in prostate cancer. LncRNAs can contribute to the pathogenesis of prostate cancer via modulation of androgen receptor (AR) signaling, ubiquitin-proteasome degradation process of AR or other important signaling pathways. The current review summarizes the role of lncRNAs in the evolution of prostate cancer with an especial focus on their importance in design of novel biomarker panels and therapeutic targets.

An Updated Review of Contribution of Long Noncoding RNA-NEAT1 to the Progression of Human Cancers

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) present pivotal roles in cancer tumorigenesis and progression. Recently, nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) as a lncRNA has been shown to mediate cell proliferation, migration, and EMT in tumor cells. NEAT1 by targeting several miRNAs/mRNA axes could regulate cancer cell behavior. Therefore, NEAT1 may function as a potent biomarker for the prediction and treatment of some human cancers. In this review, we summarized various NEAT1-related signaling pathways that are critical in cancer initiation and progression.

Identification of novel biomarkers in prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common urinary malignancy. The lack of specific and sensitive biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of PCa makes it important to seek alternatives. R software was used to analyze the PCa expression profile from data sets in Gene Expression Omnibus. Core differential genes were identified by String and Cytoscape and further validated by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and The Human Protein Atlas (HPA). Gene Ontology analysis was done in the DIVID database and visualization analysis was conducted by Hiplot. Pathway enrichment was analyzed by IPA. To identify potential competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) networks, the experimentally validated microRNA-target interactions database (miRTarBase), The Encyclopedia of RNA Interactomes (StarBase), lncBase, and GEPIA were used. The lncLocator was utilized to perform subcellular localization of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Both miRTarBase and StarBase were used to find the binding site of mRNAs-miRNAs and miRNAs-lncRNAs. Visualization of the ceRNA network was performed with Cytoscape. Nine genes closely related to the diagnosis and prognosis of PCa were obtained, including four identified biomarkers by HPA, CENPF, TPX2, TK1, and CCNB1, and five novel PCa biomarkers, RRM2, UBE2C, TOP2A, BIRC5, and ZWINT. Pathway analysis indicated that PCa carcinogenesis was highly correlated with liver fibrosis pathways, ILK signaling, and NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response. Two sets of ceRNA networks, BIRC5/hsa-miR-218-5p/NEAT1 and UBE2C/hsa-miR-483-3p/NEAT1 were found to be novel biomarkers for the identification of PCa. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction results verified that UBE2C, BIRC5, and NEAT1 were upregulated and hsa-miR-218-5p and hsa-miR-483-3p were downregulated in human PCa cells compared with normal prostate epithelial cells. The novel identified biomarkers in this study would be valuable for the diagnosis and prognosis of PCa.

Molecular and cellular functions of long non-coding RNAs in prostate and breast cancer

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as noncoding RNA transcripts with a length greater than 200 nucleotides. Research over the last decade has made great strides in our understanding of lncRNAs, especially in the biology of their role in cancer. In this article, we will briefly discuss the biogenesis and characteristics of lncRNAs, then review their molecular and cellular functions in cancer by using prostate and breast cancer as examples. LncRNAs are abundant, diverse, and evolutionarily, less conserved than protein-coding genes. They are often expressed in a tumor and cell-specific manner. As a key epigenetic factor, lncRNAs can use a wide variety of molecular mechanisms to regulate gene expression at each step of the genetic information flow pathway. LncRNAs display widespread effects on cell behavior, tumor growth, and metastasis. They act intracellularly and extracellularly in an autocrine, paracrine and endocrine fashion. Increased understanding of lncRNA's role in cancer has facilitated the development of novel biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, led to greater understanding of cancer prognosis, enabled better prediction of therapeutic responses, and promoted identification of potential targets for cancer therapy.

Recent advances of NEAT1-miRNA interactions in cancer

With high incidence rate, cancer is the main cause of death in humans. Non-coding RNAs, as novel master regulators, especially long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), play important roles in the regulation of tumorigenesis. lncRNA NEAT1 has recently gained much attention, as it is dysregulated in a broad spectrum of cancers, where it acts as either an oncogene or a tumor suppressor gene. Accumulating evidence shows that NEAT1 is correlated with the process of carcinogenesis, including proliferation, invasion, survival, drug resistance, and metastasis. NEAT1 is considered to be a biomarker and a novel therapeutic target for the diagnosis and prognosis of different cancer types. The mechanisms by which NEAT1 plays a critical role in cancers are mainly via interactions with miRNAs. NEAT1-miRNA regulatory networks play significant roles in tumorigenesis, which has attracted much attention from researchers around the world. In this review, we summarize the interaction of NEAT1 with miRNAs in the regulation of protein-coding genes in cancer. A better understanding of the NEAT1-miRNA interactions in cancer will help develop new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic approaches.

Aberrant expressions of circulating lncRNA NEAT1 and microRNA‐125a are linked with Th2 cells and symptom severity in pediatric allergic rhinitis

Objective

Long noncoding RNA nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (lnc‐NEAT1) and its target microRNA‐125a (miR‐125a) are reported to regulate immune and inflammation process in allergic rhinitis (AR). Hence, this study intended to investigate the correlation between lnc‐NEAT1 and miR‐125a expressions, as well as their clinical values in pediatric AR patients.

Methods

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples from 80 pediatric AR patients, 40 disease controls (DCs), and 40 healthy controls (HCs) were collected to detect lnc‐NEAT1 and miR‐125a expressions by reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction. For pediatric AR patients only, serum interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) and interleukin (IL)‐10 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; meanwhile, T helper (Th) 1 and Th2 cells in CD4⁺ T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Results

Lnc‐NEAT1 was overexpressed, while miR‐125a downregulated in pediatric AR patients compared to DCs and HCs (all p < 0.001). Moreover, lnc‐NEAT1 expression negatively correlated with miR‐125a expression in pediatric AR patients (p = 0.002), but not in DCs (p = 0.226) or HCs (p = 0.237). Furthermore, in pediatric AR patients, lnc‐NEAT1 expression positively associated with TNSS (p < 0.001), sneezing score (p = 0.006), and congestion score (p = 0.008); miR‐125a expression was negatively related to TNSS (p < 0.001), itching score (p = 0.040), and sneezing score (p = 0.005). Additionally, lnc‐NEAT1 expression positively, while miR‐125a expression negatively correlated with Th2 cells and IL‐10 (all p < 0.05), but they were not correlated with Th1 cells or IFN‐γ in pediatric AR patients.

Conclusion

Circulating lnc‐NEAT1 and miR‐125a are aberrantly expressed and linked with Th2 cells and symptom severity in pediatric allergic rhinitis.

Long noncoding RNA NEAT1 promotes tumorigenesis in H. pylori gastric cancer by sponging miR-30a to regulate COX-2/BCL9 pathway

BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a carcinogenic factor for gastric cancer. Our previous study demonstrated that H. pylori decreased the expression of micro-RNA (miRNA)-30a to promote the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer. However, the upstream regulatory molecules of miR-30a are not well elucidated. In this study, we found the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) may sponge miR-30a to regulate COX-2/BCL9 pathway.

METHODS

The expression of NEAT1 was detected in gastric cancer tissues and tumor-adjacent tissues by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis and RT-qPCR. LncRNA-miRNA interaction networks were constructed using the RNAhybrid and starBase v.2.0. and then validated using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. The effects of NEAT1 dysregulation on the proliferative, migratory, and invasive abilities of H. pylori filtrate-infected gastric cancer cells were observed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, wound healing test, and transwell assays. Western blot and RT-qPCR were performed to detect protein and RNA expression. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was carried out to analyze the localization and expression of COX-2 and BCL9.

RESULTS

FISH and RT-qPCR demonstrated that the expression of NEAT1 was up-regulated in gastric cancer tissues, especially in H. pylori-infected gastric cancer tissues, and the expression of NEAT1 was negatively correlated with miR-30a (miR-30a-3p and miR-30a-5p). The upregulation of NEAT1 enhanced proliferation, migration, and invasion of H. pylori filtrate-infected gastric cancer cells, while the downregulation of NEAT1 decreased these abilities, and miR-30a could reverse the effect of NEAT1 on these abilities. The dual-luciferase reporter assay identified that NEAT1 directly targeted miR-30a (miR-30a-3p and miR-30a-5p). Because miR-30a (miR-30a-3p and miR-30a-5p) negatively regulates the expression of downstream COX-2 and BCL9, NEAT1 was identified to upregulate indirectly the expression of COX-2 and BCL9. IHC showed that the expression of COX-2 and BCL9 was increased in H. pylori gastric cancer tissues.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrated that lncRNA NEAT1 may act as a promoter of tumorigenesis in H. pylori gastric cancer, by sponging miR-30a (miR-30a-3p and miR-30a-5p) to regulate the COX-2/BCL9 pathway.

Roles of noncoding RNAs in the initiation and progression of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

The morbidity and mortality of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) have increased in modern society. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including lncRNAs, circRNAs, piRNAs and miRNAs, have been reported in a variety of studies to be involved in pathological initiation and developments of MIRI. Hence this review focuses on the current research regarding these ncRNAs in MIRI. We comprehensively introduce the important features of lncRNAs, circRNAs, piRNA and miRNAs and then summarize the published studies of ncRNAs in MIRI. A clarification of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA, lncRNA-transcription factor-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axes in MIRI follows, to further elucidate the crucial roles of ncRNAs in MIRI. Bioinformatics analysis has revealed the biological correlation of mRNAs with MIRI. We provide a comprehensive perspective for the roles of these ncRNAs and their related networks in MIRI, providing a theoretical basis for preclinical and clinical studies on ncRNA-based gene therapy for MIRI treatment.

LncRNA NEAT1 promotes nucleus pulposus cell matrix degradation through regulating Nrf2/ARE axis

Background

This study aimed to assess the role and mechanism of lncRNA NEAT1 in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD).

Methods

LncRNA profile (GSE56081) between IVD and healthy control was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzes differential lncRNA expression. Expression of lncRNA NEAT1 in IVD tissue and TNF-α/IL-1β-stimulated nucleus pulposus cells were further measured by RT-PCR. The lncRNA NEAT1 overexpression plasmids (pcDNA-NEAT1) were constructed and transfected into nucleus pulposus cells. Catabolic biomarkers (MMP-3 and MMP-13), anabolic biomarkers (Col II and Aggrecan) and Nrf2 expression were further measured. To further investigate the function of Nrf2, nucleus pulposus cells were pretreated with or without 25 μM tert-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a Nrf2 activator, for 18 h and subsequently cotreated with pcDNA-NEAT1.

Results

A total of 1432 lncRNAs were differentially expressed in GSE56081. Bioinformatic analysis found that these lncRNAs mainly enriched in Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. LncRNA NEAT1 was highly expressed in IVD tissues than that of healthy control. Moreover, TNF-α/IL-1β induced a time- and dose-dependent increase in the mRNA expression of lncRNA NEAT1 in the nucleus pulposus cells. Overexpression of lncRNA NEAT1 abates promotes nucleus pulposus cells proliferation but induces matrix degradation. Meanwhile, nucleus and cytoplasm Nrf2 expression was significantly down-regulated by lncRNA NEAT1 upregulation. Nrf2 activator (TBHQ) could partially reverse the inhibitory effects of overexpression of lncRNA NEAT1 on matrix degradation.

Conclusion

Collectively, our data unveiled the lncRNA NEAT1 promotes matrix degradation by regulating Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway, suggesting a potential therapeutic for IVD in the future.

Circular RNAs and Their Linear Transcripts as Diagnostic and Prognostic Tissue Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer after Prostatectomy in Combination with Clinicopathological Factors

As new biomarkers, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been largely unexplored in prostate cancer (PCa). Using an integrative approach, we aimed to evaluate the potential of circRNAs and their linear transcripts (linRNAs) to act as (i) diagnostic biomarkers for differentiation between normal and tumor tissue and (ii) prognostic biomarkers for the prediction of biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy. In a first step, eight circRNAs (circATXN10, circCRIM1, circCSNK1G3, circGUCY1A2, circLPP, circNEAT1, circRHOBTB3, and circSTIL) were identified as differentially expressed via a genome-wide circRNA-based microarray analysis of six PCa samples. Additional bioinformatics and literature data were applied for this selection process. In total, 115 malignant PCa and 79 adjacent normal tissue samples were examined using robust RT-qPCR assays specifically established for the circRNAs and their linear counterparts. Their diagnostic and prognostic potential was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves, Cox regressions, decision curve analyses, and C-statistic calculations of prognostic indices. The combination of circATXN10 and linSTIL showed a high discriminative ability between malignant and adjacent normal tissue PCa. The combination of linGUCY1A2, linNEAT1, and linSTIL proved to be the best predictive RNA-signature for BCR. The combination of this RNA signature with five established reference models based on only clinicopathological factors resulted in an improved predictive accuracy for BCR in these models. This is an encouraging study for PCa to evaluate circRNAs and their linRNAs in an integrative approach, and the results showed their clinical potential in combination with standard clinicopathological variables.