Reduced levels of actin gamma 1 predict poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients

Using single-cell RNA sequencing and bulk RNA sequencing data to reveal a correlation between smoking and neutrophil activation in esophageal carcinoma patients

BACKGROUND

Cigarette smoking is considered as a major risk factor for esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) patients. Neutrophil activation plays a key role in cancer development and progression. However, the relationship between cigarette smoking and neutrophils in ESCA patients remained unclear.

METHODS

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA sequencing data were obtained from public databases. Uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) was used to perform downscaling and clustering based on scRNA-seq data. The module genes associated with smoking in ESCA patients were filtered by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Using the "AUCell" package, the enrichment of different cell subpopulations and gene collections were assessed. "CellChat" and "CellphoneDB" were used to infer the probability and significance of ligand-receptor interactions between different cell subpopulations.

RESULTS

WGCNA was performed to screened module genes associated with smoking in ESCA patients from MEdarkquosie, MEturquoise, and MEgreenyellow. Next, eight cell clusters were identified, and using the AUCell score, we determined that neutrophil clusters were more active in the gene modules associated with smoking in ESCA patients. Two neutrophil subtypes, Neutrophils 1 and Neutrophils 2, exhibited greater enrichment in inflammatory response regulation, intercellular adhesion, and regulation of T cell activation. Furthermore, we found that neutrophils may pass through AMPT-(ITGA5 + ITGB1) and ICAM1-AREG in order to promote the development of ESCA, and that the expression levels of the receptor genes insulin-degrading enzyme and ITGB1 were significantly and positively correlated with cigarette smoking per day.

CONCLUSION

Combining smoking-related gene modules and scRNA-seq, the current findings revealed the heterogeneity of neutrophils in ESCA and a tumor-promoting role of neutrophils in the tumor microenvironment of smoking ESCA patients.

Ultrasound Microbubble-Stimulated miR-145-5p Inhibits Malignant Behaviors of Breast Cancer Cells by Targeting ACTG1

ABSTRACT

Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) technology combines ultrasound with a variety of functional microbubble vectors to enhance the transfection and expression of target genes, and has become a promising noninvasive method for localized gene transfer, which is widely used in gene therapy for cancer. This research aimed to explore the role of UTMD-mediated miR-145-5p on breast cancer (BC) tumorigenesis and the underlying mechanisms. To achieve UTMD-mediated miR-145-5p overexpression, BC cells were cotransfected with microbubbles (MBs) and miR-145-5p mimics. The BC cell malignant phenotypes were assessed through CCK-8, wound healing, and transwell assays. MiR-145-5p and actin gamma 1 (ACTG1) binding relationship was verified through luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays. MiR-145-5p and ACTG1 levels in BC cells and tissues were detected through RT-qPCR and Western blotting. ACTG1 was upregulated, whereas miR-145-5p was downregulated in BC cells and tissues. MiR-145-5p targeted ACTG1 and negatively regulated its level in BC cells. Overexpressing miR-145-5p restrained BC cell growth, migration, and invasion. Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction improved the overexpression efficiency of miR-145-5p and enhanced the suppressive influence on BC cell malignant phenotypes. In addition, ACTG1 overexpression compromises the repression of UTMD-mediated miR-145-5p on cellular behaviors in BC. Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction-delivered miR-145-5p hindered malignant behaviors of BC cells through downregulating ACTG1.

Proteomics analysis of human breast milk by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) coupled with mass spectrometry to assess breast cancer risk

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers and one of the most common causes for cancer-related mortality. Discovery of protein biomarkers associated with cancer is considered important for early diagnosis and prediction of the cancer risk. Protein biomarkers could be investigated by large-scale protein investigation or proteomics, using mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques. Our group applies MS-based proteomics to study the protein pattern in human breast milk from women with BC and controls and investigates the alterations and dysregulations of breast milk proteins in comparison pairs of BC versus control. These dysregulated proteins might be considered potential future biomarkers of BC. Identification of potential biomarkers in breast milk may benefit young women without BC, but who could collect the milk for future assessment of BC risk. Previously we identified several dysregulated proteins in different sets of human breast milk samples from BC patients and controls using gel-based protein separation coupled with MS. Here, we performed 2D-PAGE coupled with nano-liquid chromatography-tandem MS (nanoLC-MS/MS) in a small-scale study on a set of six human breast milk pairs (three BC samples vs. three controls) and we identified several dysregulated proteins that have potential roles in cancer progression and might be considered potential BC biomarkers in the future.

Actin gamma 1 is a critical regulator of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Background

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for about 90% of pancreatic cancers, which represents one of the most lethal malignancies with a 5-year overall survival less than 10%. Identifying molecular biomarkers is invaluable in helping to predict clinical outcomes and developing targeted chemotherapies. Actin gamma 1 (ACTG1) is a kind of actin isoform that exists in almost all cell types as a component of the cytoskeleton, thus mediating cell viability. Although there have been studies revealing the prognostic significance of ACTG1 in several malignancies such as glioblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, its involvement and function in pancreatic cancer needs to be elucidated.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled a cohort of PDAC patients after surgical resection (n = 149) and conducted immunohistochemistry experiments to explore the expression profile of ACTG1. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the clinical relevance of ACTG1. The functional role of ACTG1 in PDAC progression was further validated via both in vitro and in vivo studies.

Results

ACTG1 presented a higher expression in PDAC tissues than in nontumorous pancreatic tissues. ACTG1 level positively correlated with tumor stage, implying its potential role as a tumor promoter. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified that patients with lower ACTG1 showed a better overall survival compared to those with higher ACTG1 expression. Cellular and xenograft experiments confirmed the role of ACTG1 on facilitating tumor proliferation both in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusions

Our study revealed a pro-oncogenic role of ACTG1 in PDAC, which may help predict prognosis and serve as a novel therapeutic target.