Herbal Active Ingredients: An Emerging Potential for the Prevention and Treatment of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 C (UBE2C) may play a dual role involved in the progression of thyroid carcinoma

The present study aimed to explore the role of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 C (UBE2C) in the progress of thyroid carcinoma (THCA). We firstly explored the prognostic impact and expression level of UBE2C in THCA. Then, we performed the UBE2C knockdown and evaluated the effects on the proliferation, cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of THCA cells, as well as resistance to sorafenib. Finally, we predicted the possible pathways and explored the correlation between UBE2C with immune infiltrates. The results showed that high expression of UBE2C independently predicted a shorter disease-free survival time of THCA patients. And UBE2C also presented a better prognostic performance on the survival probability of patients. Expression analysis showed that UBE2C was statistically upregulated in THCA tissue compared with normal tissue. After UBE2C knockdown, the proliferation of THCA cells was inhibited and apoptosis was increased. These results indicated that UBE2C acted as an oncogene in THCA. However, the migration and invasion of THCA cells with UBE2C knockdown were enhanced, and the expressions of migration-related proteins were upregulated. In addition, UBE2C knockdown increased the resistance of THCA cells to sorafenib. These results implied the potential of UBE2C as a suppressor gene in THCA. The pathway analysis further predicted that metabolism-related pathways were activated in the UBE2C low expression class, and cell growth and immune-related pathways were focused on the UBE2C high expression class. Finally, we observed a significant positive relationship between UBE2C and several immune infiltrates in THCA. It followed that UBE2C high expression might play a vital role in THCA to some extent. This study revealed that UBE2C participated in the progression of THCA and may play the dual role of both oncogene and tumor suppressor gene. The detailed mechanism needed to be further investigated.

CircLDLR Promotes Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Tumorigenicity by Regulating miR-637/LMO4 Axis

Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to play important roles in the development and progression of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, the function and molecular mechanism of circRNA low-density lipoprotein receptor (circLDLR) in the tumorigenesis of PTC remain unknown.

Results

In this study, circLDLR was found to be markedly upregulated in PTC tissues and cell lines, and knockdown of circLDLR inhibited PTC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion but induced apoptosis in vitro. Moreover, circLDLR acted as a sponge for miR-637, and miR-637 interference reversed the anticancer effects of circLDLR knockdown on PTC cells. LMO4 was verified to be a target of miR-637; LMO4 upregulation abolished miR-637 mediated inhibition of cell growth and metastasis in PTC. Additionally, circLDLR could indirectly modulate LMO4 via acting as a sponge of miR-637 in PTC cells. Besides that, xenograft analysis showed that circLDLR knockdown suppressed tumor growth in vivo via regulating LMO4 and miR-637.

Conclusion

Taken together, these results demonstrated that circLDLR promoted PTC tumorigenesis through miR-637/LMO4 axis, which may provide a novel insight into the understanding of PTC tumorigenesis and be useful in developing potential targets for PTC treatment.

Silencing long non-coding RNA DLX6-AS1 or restoring microRNA-193b-3p enhances thyroid carcinoma cell autophagy and apoptosis via depressing HOXA1

Long non‐coding RNA DLX6 antisense RNA 1 (DLX6‐AS1) lists a critical position in thyroid carcinoma (TC) development. However, the overall comprehension about DLX6‐AS1, microRNA (miR)‐193b‐3p and homeobox A1 (HOXA1) in TC is not thoroughly enough. Concerning to this, this work is pivoted on DLX6‐AS1/miR‐193b‐3p/HOXA1 axis in TC cell growth and autophagy. TC tissues and adjacent normal thyroid tissues were collected, in which expression of DLX6‐AS1, miR‐193b‐3p and HOXA1 was tested, together with their interactions. TC cells were transfected with DLX6‐AS1/miR‐193b‐3p‐related oligonucleotides or plasmids to test cell growth and autophagy. Tumorigenesis in nude mice was observed. DLX6‐AS1 and HOXA1 were up‐regulated, and miR‐193b‐3p was down‐regulated in TC. Depleted DLX6‐AS1 or restored miR‐193b‐3p disturbed cell growth and promoted autophagy. DLX6‐AS1 targeted miR‐193b‐3p and positively regulated HOXA1. miR‐193b‐3p inhibition mitigated the impaired tumorigenesis induced by down‐regulated DLX6‐AS1. Tumorigenesis in nude mice was consistent with that in cells. It is clear that DLX6‐AS1 depletion hinders TC cell growth and promotes autophagy via up‐regulating miR‐193b‐3p and down‐regulating HOXA1.