The Abnormal Expression of MicroRNA-542-3p in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Its Clinical Significance

A systematic review of progress on hepatocellular carcinoma research over the past 30 years: a machine-learning-based bibliometric analysis

Introduction

Research on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has grown significantly, and researchers cannot access the vast amount of literature. This study aimed to explore the research progress in studying HCC over the past 30 years using a machine learning-based bibliometric analysis and to suggest future research directions.

Methods

Comprehensive research was conducted between 1991 and 2020 in the public version of the PubMed database using the MeSH term "hepatocellular carcinoma." The complete records of the collected results were downloaded in Extensible Markup Language format, and the metadata of each publication, such as the publication year, the type of research, the corresponding author's country, the title, the abstract, and the MeSH terms, were analyzed. We adopted a latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling method on the Python platform to analyze the research topics of the scientific publications.

Results

In the last 30 years, there has been significant and constant growth in the annual publications about HCC (annual percentage growth rate: 7.34%). Overall, 62,856 articles related to HCC from the past 30 years were searched and finally included in this study. Among the diagnosis-related terms, "Liver Cirrhosis" was the most studied. However, in the 2010s, "Biomarkers, Tumor" began to outpace "Liver Cirrhosis." Regarding the treatment-related MeSH terms, "Hepatectomy" was the most studied; however, recent studies related to "Antineoplastic Agents" showed a tendency to supersede hepatectomy. Regarding basic research, the study of "Cell Lines, Tumors,'' appeared after 2000 and has been the most studied among these terms.

Conclusion

This was the first machine learning-based bibliometric study to analyze more than 60,000 publications about HCC over the past 30 years. Despite significant efforts in analyzing the literature on basic research, its connection with the clinical field is still lacking. Therefore, more efforts are needed to convert and apply basic research results to clinical treatment. Additionally, it was found that microRNAs have potential as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for HCC.

A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis to identify potential prognostic biomarkers among CC and CXC chemokines in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is a major human health problem due to its increasing incidence and mortality rate. CC and CXC chemokines are associated with tumorigenesis and the progression of many cancers. Since the prognostic values of CC and CXC families' expression in various types of cancers are becoming increasingly evident, we aimed to conduct a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis elucidating the prognostic values of the CC and CXC families in BC. Therefore, TCGA, UALCAN, Kaplan–Meier plotter, bc-GenExMiner, cBioPortal, STRING, Enrichr, and TIMER were utilized for analysis. We found that high levels of CCL4/5/14/19/21/22 were associated with better OS and RFS, while elevated expression of CCL24 was correlated with shorter OS in BC patients. Also, high levels of CXCL9/13 indicated longer OS, and enhanced expression of CXCL12/14 was linked with better OS and RFS in BC patients. Meanwhile, increased transcription levels of CXCL8 were associated with worse OS and RFS in BC patients. In addition, our results showed that CCL5, CCL8, CCL14, CCL20, CCL27, CXCL4, and CXCL14 were notably correlated with the clinical outcomes of BC patients. Our findings provide a new point of view that may help the clinical application of CC and CXC chemokines as prognostic biomarkers in BC.

The Identification and Analysis of MicroRNAs Combined Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor with high morbidity and mortality globally. Compared with traditional diagnostic methods, microRNAs (miRNAs) were novel biomarkers with higher accuracy.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to identify combinatorial biomarkers of miRNAs to construct a classification model for the diagnosis of HCC.

METHOD

The mature miRNAs expression profile data of six cancers (liver, lung, gastric, breast, prostate and colon) were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database with accession number GSE36915, GSE29250, GSE99417, GSE41970, GSE64333 and GSE35982. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profile data of these six cancers were obtained from TCGA. Three R software packages, student's t-test and a normalized fold-change method were utilized to identify HCC-specific differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs). Using all combinations of obtained HCC- specific DEMs as input features, we construct a classification model by support vector machine searching for the optimal combination. Furthermore, target genes prediction was conducted on the miRWalk 2.0 website to obtain differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), and KEGG pathway enrichment was analyzed on the DAVID website.

RESULTS

The optimal combination consisted of four miRNAs (hsa-miR-130a-3p, hsa-miR-450b-5p, hsa-miR-136-5p and hsa-miR-24-1-5p), of which the last one has not been currently reported to be relevant to HCC. The target genes of hsa-miR-24-1-5p (CDC7, ACACA, CTNNA1, and NF2) were involved in the cell cycle, AMPK signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway and insulin signaling pathway, which affect the proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis of cancer cells. Moreover, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the four miRNAs were all higher than 0.85.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the miRNAs combined biomarkers were reliable for the diagnosis of HCC. Hsa-miR-24-1-5p was a novel biomarker for HCC diagnosis identified in this study.

miR-182 modulates cell proliferation and invasion in prostate cancer via targeting ST6GALNAC5

Altered expression of miR-182 has been observed in various types of human cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of miR-182 and its role in prostate cancer (PCa). Expression of miR-182 and ST6GALNAC5 in tumor tissues and the Du145 PCa cell line was analyzed. Cell proliferation assay, colony formation assay, transwell assay, and wound healing assay were performed. The impact of miR-182 on tumor growth was investigated using a xenograft model. The results indicated that expression of miR-182 was higher in PCa tissues and cell lines, while ST6GALNAC5 was decreased. Downregulating miR-182 significantly inhibited the capacities of proliferation and invasion of PC3 and Du145 cells. ST6GALNAC5 was demonstrated to be a target of miR-182 by luciferase assay, and western blot results indicated PI3K/Akt pathway was involved in miR-182 associated effects on PC3 and Du145 cells. The animal experiment suggested that knockdown of miR-182 inhibited tumor growth. Our study proved that miR-182 participated in the proliferation and invasion of PCa cells via mediating expression of ST6GALNAC5 and established a miR-182/ST6GALNAC5/PI3K/AKT axis in regulation of tumor progression. Our investigation provided a basis for further exploration of the application of miR-182 or ST6GALNAC5-associated therapies for PCa patients.

Circulatory miR-221 & miR-542 expression profiles as potential molecular biomarkers in Hepatitis C Virus mediated liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma

Chronic hepatitis C virus (cHCV) is a leading cause for liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) globally. So far, there is no optimal non-invasive biomarker for diagnosing HCV associated hepatic disorders. Circulatory miRNAs have drawn great attention as potential non-invasive biomarkers in various diseases. We quantified miR-221 and miR-542 levels in the plasma of 153 Egyptian patients (38 healthy controls (HC), 36 cHCV, 39 HCV-LC and 40 HCV mediated HCC groups) using qRT-PCR. All diseased groups exhibited significant upregulation in miR-221 expression (P < 0.001) with an increasing trend towards late stages (HCV-LC+HCV-HCC) as compared to early stages (cHCV). MiR-221 could significantly discriminate HCC patients from cHCV and HCV-LC with (AUC=0.698; P = 0.002) and (AUC=0.644; P = 0.032) respectively. Furthermore, miR-221 could significantly discriminate between HCC and non-HCC groups (AUC=0.670, P<0.001). HCV-LC & cHCV groups showed significant upregulation in miR-542 with remarkable downregulation in HCC group (P = 0.004). MiR-542 exhibited diagnostic power of (AUC=0.640; P = 0.044) and (AUC= 0.644; P = 0.040) for discriminating HCV-LC from HCC and cHCV groups respectively. Both miR-221 and miR-542 were significantly upregulated in cirrhotic group (HCV-LC) (P = 0.046 and P = 0.002 respectively) as compared to non-cirrhotic group (cHCV+HC). Combining both miRNAs in a panel significantly improved diagnostic performance as follows; HC and HCC (AUC=0.714, P < 0.001); HCC and LC (AUC=0.714, P = 0.001); HC and LC (AUC=0.710, P = 0.002) and also cHCV and HCC (AUC=0.672, P = 0.006). In conclusion, both miR-221 & miR-542 could stand as a standalone biomarker for staging various HCV associated disorders. Combining them would greatly enhance their diagnostic potential.

Integrative Transcriptomic Network Analysis of Butyrate Treated Colorectal Cancer Cells

Diet-derived histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), butyrate, alters global acetylation and consequently global gene expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells to exert its anticancer effects. Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression contributes to CRC development and progression. Butyrate-mediated modulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression remains under-investigated. This study employed a systems biology approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex miRNA-mRNA interactions contributing to the butyrate response in CRC cells. Next-generation sequencing, gene ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses were utilized to reveal the extent of butyrate-mediated gene regulation in CRC cells. Changes in cell proliferation, apoptosis, the cell cycle and gene expression induced by miRNAs and target gene knockdown in CRC cells were assessed. Butyrate induced differential expression of 113 miRNAs and 2447 protein-coding genes in HCT116 cells. Butyrate also altered transcript splicing of 1591 protein-coding genes. GO, and pathway enrichment analyses revealed the cell cycle to be a central target of the butyrate response. Two butyrate-induced miRNAs, miR-139 and miR-542, acted cooperatively with butyrate to induce apoptosis and reduce CRC cell proliferation by regulating target genes, including cell cycle-related EIF4G2 and BIRC5. EIF4G2 RNA interference mimicked the miR-139-mediated reduction in cell proliferation. The cell cycle is a critical pathway involved in the butyrate response of CRC cells. These findings reveal novel roles for miRNAs in the cell cycle-related, anticancer effects of butyrate in CRC cells.

MicroRNA-294 Promotes Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion in SMMC-7721 Hepatoma Carcinoma Cells by Activating the JNK/ERK Signaling Pathway

BACKGROUND

It has been reported that miR-294 is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and cells. However, the potential role of miR-294 in the pathogenesis of HCC remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the role of miR-294 in HCC and the potential mechanism involved in this process.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the expression of miR-294 in HCC tissues and cell lines. Following the overexpression or knockdown of miR-294, the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of cells were determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), wound healing and transwell assays, respectively. The phosphorylation of JNK and ERK was determined through western blotting. Furthermore, HCC cells were treated with JNK inhibitor SP600125 or ERK inhibitor U0126 and transfected with miR-294 mimics or negative control. Subsequently, the phosphorylation of JNK and ERK was evaluated and the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of HCC cells were also determined.

RESULTS

The expression of miR-294 was significantly increased in HCC tissues and cell lines. Following the overexpression of miR-294, proliferation, migration, and invasion were promoted in the SSMC-7721 cell line, and the phosphorylation of JNK and ERK was increased, while silencing of miR-294 led to the opposite result. Use of the JNK or ERK inhibitor to treat SSMC-7721 cells transfected with miR-294 mimics decreased the phosphorylation of JNK and ERK and inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of cells.

CONCLUSIONS

miR-294 is important for the development of HCC in terms of the biological activities of cells, and may be a novel therapeutic target for HCC.

Recent advances in molecular biomarkers for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide and recurrence rate after curative resection remains high. To improve HCC prognosis, novel sensitive biomarkers and targeted molecular therapies are needed. Accumulation of multiple genetic aberrations caused by pathologically derived liver damage results in HCC carcinogenesis. Elucidating the genes associated with tumorigenesis and progression of HCC may lead to the development of early detection and prognosis markers and to the identification of therapeutic targets. Areas covered: We review recently reported (January 2017-March 2019) HCC-associated molecules, including protein-coding genes, microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and methylated gene promoters. Expert opinion: The molecules reviewed have the potential to be clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC. The accumulation and understanding of genetic and epigenetic data are essential to improve the management of HCC patients.