miR-30a-5p Inhibits Proliferation and Migration of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells by Targeting FOXD1

Integrative analysis of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interactions in smooth muscle cell phenotypic transitions

Objectives: We previously found that the pluripotency factor OCT4 is reactivated in smooth muscle cells (SMC) in human and mouse atherosclerotic plaques and plays an atheroprotective role. Loss of OCT4 in SMC in vitro was associated with decreases in SMC migration. However, molecular mechanisms responsible for atheroprotective SMC-OCT4-dependent effects remain unknown. Methods: Since studies in embryonic stem cells demonstrated that OCT4 regulates long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), making them candidates for OCT4 effect mediators, we applied an in vitro approach to investigate the interactions between OCT4-regulated lncRNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs in SMC. We used OCT4 deficient mouse aortic SMC (MASMC) treated with the pro-atherogenic oxidized phospholipid POVPC, which, as we previously demonstrated, suppresses SMC contractile markers and induces SMC migration. Differential expression of lncRNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs was obtained by lncRNA/mRNA expression array and small-RNA microarray. Long non-coding RNA to mRNA associations were predicted based on their genomic proximity and association with vascular diseases. Given a recently discovered crosstalk between miRNA and lncRNA, we also investigated the association of miRNAs with upregulated/downregulated lncRNA-mRNA pairs. Results: POVPC treatment in SMC resulted in upregulating genes related to the axon guidance and focal adhesion pathways. Knockdown of Oct4 resulted in differential regulation of pathways associated with phagocytosis. Importantly, these results were consistent with our data showing that OCT4 deficiency attenuated POVPC-induced SMC migration and led to increased phagocytosis. Next, we identified several up- or downregulated lncRNA associated with upregulation of the specific mRNA unique for the OCT4 deficient SMC, including upregulation of ENSMUST00000140952-Hoxb5/6 and ENSMUST00000155531-Zfp652 along with downregulation of ENSMUST00000173605-Parp9 and, ENSMUST00000137236-Zmym1. Finally, we found that many of the downregulated miRNAs were associated with cell migration, including miR-196a-1 and miR-10a, targets of upregulated ENSMUST00000140952, and miR-155 and miR-122, targets of upregulated ENSMUST00000155531. Oppositely, the upregulated miRNAs were anti-migratory and pro-phagocytic, such as miR-10a/b and miR-15a/b, targets of downregulated ENSMUST00000173605, and miR-146a/b and miR-15b targets of ENSMUST00000137236. Conclusion: Our integrative analyses of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interactions in SMC indicated novel potential OCT4-dependent mechanisms that may play a role in SMC phenotypic transitions.

GALNT2, an O-glycosylating enzyme, is a critical regulator of radioresistance of non-small cell lung cancer: evidence from an integrated multi-omics analysis

Radioresistance is the primary reason for radiotherapy failure in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Glycosylation-related alterations are critically involved in tumor radioresistance. However, the relationship between glycosylation and NSCLC radioresistance is unclear. Here, we generated radioresistant NSCLC cell models by using fractionated irradiation. The aberrant glycosylation involved in NSCLC-related radioresistance was elucidated by transcriptomic, proteomic, and glycomic analyses. We conducted in vitro and in vivo investigations for determining the biological functions of glycosylation. Additionally, its downstream pathways and upstream regulators were inferred and verified. We demonstrated that mucin-type O-glycosylation and the O-glycosylating enzyme GALNT2 were highly expressed in radioresistant NSCLC cells. GALNT2 was found to be elevated in NSCLC tissues; this elevated level showed a remarkable association with response to radiotherapy treatment as well as overall survival. Functional experiments showed that GALNT2 knockdown improved NSCLC radiosensitivity via inducing apoptosis. By using a lectin pull-down system, we revealed that mucin-type O-glycans on IGF1R were modified by GALNT2 and that IGF1R could affect the expression of apoptosis-related genes. Moreover, GALNT2 knockdown-mediated in vitro radiosensitization was enhanced by IGF1R inhibition. According to a miRNA array analysis and a luciferase reporter assay, miR-30a-5p negatively modulated GALNT2. In summary, our findings established GALNT2 as a key contributor to the radioresistance of NSCLC. Therefore, targeting GALNT2 may be a promising therapeutic strategy for NSCLC.

MiRNA-30a-5p/VCAN Arrests Tumor Metastasis via Modulating the Adhesion of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Previous research indicated that the dysregulation of miRNA-30a-5p has a correlation with cell metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). But the study about the molecular regulatory mechanism of miRNA-30a-5p in LUAD cell metastasis is limited. Thus, we discussed the mechanism of miRNA-30a-5p and its biological function in LUAD cells. By utilizing bioinformatics analysis, how miRNA-30a-5p was expressed in LUAD tissue was determined and its downstream target genes were predicted. The signaling pathways where these target genes enriched were analyzed. Several in vitro experiments were applied for cell function detection: dual-luciferase assay for validating the targeting relationship between miRNA-30a-5p and its target gene; quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for testing the expression of miRNA-30a-5p and its target gene in LUAD cells; MTT, transwell, cell adhesion, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence assays for examining the capabilities of LUAD cells to proliferate, migrate, invade, adhere, apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) effect; Western blot for determining the expression of adhesion-related proteins and EMT-related proteins. Down-regulated miRNA-30a-5p was discovered in LUAD cells, but on the contrary, VCAN was upregulated. MiRNA-30a-5p overexpression notably repressed the virulent progression of LUAD cells. Besides, dual-luciferase assay validated the targeting relationship between miRNA-30a-5p and VCAN. MiRNA-30a-5p, by negatively regulating VCAN, was capable of hindering LUAD cell proliferation, migration, invasion, adhesion, viability and EMT. It was illustrated that miRNA-30a-5p could downregulate VCAN to retard the malignant progression of LUAD cells, which provides novel insights into LUAD pathogenesis, suggesting that miRNA-30a-5p/VCAN axis can be a promising anti-cancer target for LUAD.

FOXD1-dependent RalA-ANXA2-Src complex promotes CTC formation in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Early metastasis is a key factor contributing to poor breast cancer (BC) prognosis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are regarded as the precursor cells of metastasis, which are ultimately responsible for the main cause of death in BC. However, to date molecular mechanisms underlying CTC formation in BC have been insufficiently defined.

METHODS

RNA-seq was carried out in primary tissues from early-stage BC patients (with CTCs≥5 and CTCs = 0, respectively) and the validation study was conducted in untreated 80 BC patients. Multiple in vitro and in vivo models were used in functional studies. Luciferase reporter, ChIP-seq, CUT&Tag-seq, and GST-pulldown, etc. were utilized in mechanistic studies. CTCs were counted by the CanPatrol™ CTC classification system or LiquidBiospy™ microfluidic chips. ERK1/2 inhibitor SCH772984 was applied to in vivo treatment.

RESULTS

Highly expressed FOXD1 of primary BC tissues was observed to be significantly associated with increased CTCs in BC patients, particularly in early BC patients. Overexpressing FOXD1 enhanced the migration capability of BC cells, CTC formation and BC metastasis, via facilitating epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tumor cells. Mechanistically, FOXD1 was discovered to induce RalA expression by directly bound to RalA promotor. Then, RalA formed a complex with ANXA2 and Src, promoting the interaction between ANXA2 and Src, thus increasing the phosphorylation (Tyr23) of ANXA2. Inhibiting RalA-GTP form attenuated the interaction between ANXA2 and Src. This cascade culminated in the activation of ERK1/2 signal that enhanced metastatic ability of BC cells. In addition, in vivo treatment with SCH772984, a specific inhibitor of ERK1/2, was used to dramatically inhibit the CTC formation and BC metastasis.

CONCLUSION

Here, we report a FOXD1-dependent RalA-ANXA2-Src complex that promotes CTC formation via activating ERK1/2 signal in BC. FOXD1 may serve as a prognostic factor in evaluation of BC metastasis risks. This signaling cascade is druggable and effective for overcoming CTC formation from the early stages of BC.

miR-381 Inhibits Proliferation and Invasion of Non-Small-Cell Cancer Cells by Targeting USP39

It is known that miR-381 plays a therapeutic role in a variety of cancers, but the regulatory mechanism of miR-381 in the treatment of lung cancer remains unclear. This study is aimed at exploring the expression level and mechanism of miR-381 in lung cancer. In this experiment, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot, and other methods were used to detect the expression of miR-381 and ubiquitin-specific protease 39 (USP39) in lung cancer tissues. The target genes of miR-381 were predicted by bioinformatics techniques, and the targeting relationship between miR-381 and USP39 was verified by the dual-luciferase reporting method. The expression levels of miR-381 and USP39 were adjusted to verify the effect of miR-381 on the expression of USP39 gene. The effect of miR-381 expression on proliferation of lung cancer cells was verified by cell proliferation and invasion experiments. miR-381 was downregulated in non-small-cell lung cancer tissues and cell lines, while USP39 was upregulated. The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay showed that miR-381 and USP39 had targeted binding sites. After transfection with miR-381 mimics, USP39 expression was significantly decreased, cell proliferation decreased, and apoptosis increased. After transfection with miR-381 inhibitor, USP39 expression was significantly increased, cell proliferation increased, and cell apoptosis decreased. Overexpression of USP39 significantly increased the invasion ability and cell survival curve (p < 0.05). In conclusion, overexpression of miR-381 can regulate the expression of USP39, inhibit the proliferation and invasion of cancer cells, and induce apoptosis of cancer cells. This may provide a new perspective and strategy for targeted therapy of non-small-cell lung cancer.

Identification of Antitumor miR-30e-5p Controlled Genes; Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Analysis of microRNA (miRNA) expression signatures in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has revealed that the miR-30 family is frequently downregulated in cancer tissues. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database confirms that all members of the miR-30 family (except miR-30c-5p) are downregulated in HNSCC tissues. Moreover, low expression of miR-30e-5p and miR-30c-1-3p significantly predicts shorter survival of HNSCC patients (p = 0.0081 and p = 0.0224, respectively). In this study, we focused on miR-30e-5p to investigate its tumor-suppressive roles and its control of oncogenic genes in HNSCC cells. Transient expression of miR-30e-5p significantly attenuated cancer cell migration and invasive abilities in HNSCC cells. Nine genes (DDIT4, FOXD1, FXR1, FZD2, HMGB3, MINPP1, PAWR, PFN2, and RTN4R) were identified as putative targets of miR-30e-5p control. Their expression levels significantly predicted shorter survival of HNSCC patients (p < 0.05). Among those targets, FOXD1 expression appeared to be an independent factor predicting patient survival according to multivariate Cox regression analysis (p = 0.049). Knockdown assays using siRNAs corresponding to FOXD1 showed that malignant phenotypes (e.g., cell proliferation, migration, and invasive abilities) of HNSCC cells were significantly suppressed. Overexpression of FOXD1 was confirmed by immunostaining of HNSCC clinical specimens. Our miRNA-based approach is an effective strategy for the identification of prognostic markers and therapeutic target molecules in HNSCC. Moreover, these findings led to insights into the molecular pathogenesis of HNSCC.

MiR-4652-5p Targets RND1 to Regulate Cell Adhesion and Promote Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is one subtype of non-small-cell lung cancer, whose pathogenesis has not been fully understood. Exploring molecular mechanisms of LUSC helps a lot with the development of LUSC novel therapy. Hence, our study aims to investigate novel molecular mechanisms. Differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. A series of assays were applied to test cell functions, including qRT-PCR to analyze RND1 and miR-4652-5p expression, dual-luciferase reporter gene assay to verify the targeting relationship between these two genes, cell counting kit-8 and colony formation assays to evaluate the ability of LUSC cells to proliferate, transwell to examine the migratory and invasive abilities, and western blot to test expression of RND1 and cell adhesion-related proteins. RND1 was lowly expressed while miR-4652-5p was highly expressed in LUSC cells. The correlation between these two genes was significantly negative and miR-4652-5p could downregulate RND1 expression. Additionally, cellular function assays validated that RND1 suppressed LUSC cells to proliferate, migrate, and invade. Besides, this gene might also affect cell adhesion. Furthermore, rescue assay suggested that miR-4652-5p downregulated RND1 expression to promote the progression of LUSC cells. Together, miR-4652-5p targeted RND1 to modulate cell adhesion and the progression of LUSC cells.

Exploring the Study of miR-1301 Inhibiting the Proliferation and Migration of Squamous Cell Carcinoma YD-38 Cells through PI3K/AKT Pathway under Deep Learning Medical Images

With the rapid development and application of deep learning medical image recognition, natural language processing, and other fields, at the same time, deep learning has become the most popular research direction in the field of image processing and recognition. Through deep learning medical image recognition technology, it is of great significance to explore the research of miR-1301. The purpose of this article is to use an improved CNN neural network model algorithm combined to contrast the experimental groups and use deep learning medical imaging technology to study the mechanism by which miR-1301 inhibits the proliferation of carcinoma YD-38 cells through the PI3K/AKT pathway. This paper studies the method of image recognition of squamous cell carcinoma YD-38 cells using a convolutional neural network (CNN). First, a CNN classification model for the characteristics of YD-38 cell images is constructed. Then, pretraining and dropout technology are used to improve and optimize the proposed CNN model to improve the robustness of the model. In this paper, the miR mimic group and the miR blank group and the PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitor Wortmannin were selected to jointly treat YD-38 cells. The expression of mRNA in miR-1301 in HGF-1 was determined using RT-PCR (real and real-time fluorescence and YD-38 cells). The blank plasmids and the miR-1301 mimic (miR-1301 mimic) were transfected into YD-38 cells. The experiments were divided into two groups in the miR-1301 blank group and the miR-1301 simulation groups, respectively. The proliferation capacity of YD-38 cells was prepared in 1.5 ml sterile EP tubes and then diluted with medium for the proliferation of the cells. The scratch test and Transwell test were used to detect the effect of miR-1-3p on the migration and invasion of liver cancer cells. In this paper, CCK-8 experiment, clone formation experiment, flow cytometry, scratch experiment, and Transwell chamber experiment are used to analyze the effects of target gene CAAP1 on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of liver cancer cells. This paper uses CCK-8 to detect five kinds of the effect of miRNA on the proliferation ability of liver cancer cells and the effect of miR-1-3p on the proliferation ability of liver cancer cells. Experimental studies have shown that, compared with the miR blank group, the expression of PI3K and p-AKT was significantly downregulated in the miR mimic group after 24, 48, and 72 hours and the phosphorylation level of AKT was also significantly reduced $\left(P<0.05\right)$ .

FeCO3, constructing the network biomarkers using the inter-feature correlation coefficients and its application in detecting high-order breast cancer biomarkers

Aims:

This study aims to formulate the inter-feature correlation as the engineered features.

Background:

Modern biotechnologies tend to generate a huge number of characteristics of a sample, while an OMIC dataset usually has a few dozens or hundreds of samples due to the high costs of generating the OMIC data. So many bio-OMIC studies assumed the inter-feature independence and selected a feature with a high phenotype-association.

Objective:

However, many features are closely associated with each other due to their physical or functional interactions, which may be utilized as a new view of features.

Method:

This study proposed a feature engineering algorithm based on the correlation coefficients (FeCO3) by utilizing the correlations between a given sample and a few reference samples. A comprehensive evaluation was carried out for the proposed FeCO3 network features using 24 bio-OMIC datasets.

Result:

The experimental data suggested that the newly calculated FeCO3 network features tended to achieve better classification performances than the original features, using the same popular feature selection and classification algorithms. The FeCO3 network features were also consistently supported by the literature. FeCO3 was utilized to investigate the high-order engineered biomarkers of breast cancer, and detected the PBX2 gene (Pre-B-Cell Leukemia Transcription Factor 2) as one of the candidate breast cancer biomarkers. Although the two methylated residues cg14851325 (Pvalue=8.06e-2) and cg16602460 (Pvalue=1.19e-1) within PBX2 did not have statistically significant association with breast cancers, the high-order inter-feature correlations showed a significant association with breast cancers.

Conclusion:

The proposed FeCO3 network features calculated the high-order inter-feature correlations as novel features, and may facilitate the investigations of complex diseases from this new perspective. The source code is available in FigShare at 10.6084/m9.figshare.13550051 or the web site http://www.healthinformaticslab.org/supp/ .

Identification of Differentially Expressed and Prognostic lncRNAs for the Construction of ceRNA Networks in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) could function as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to competitively adsorb microRNAs (miRNAs), thereby regulating the expression of their target protein-coding mRNAs. In this study, we aim to identify more effective diagnostic and prognostic markers for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).

Methods

We obtained differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and mRNAs (DEmRNAs) for LUAD by using The Cancer Genomes Atlas (TCGA) portal. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to unveil core gene modules associated with LUAD. The Cox proportional hazards model was performed to determine the prognostic significance of DElncRNAs. The diagnostic and prognostic significance of DElncRNAs was further verified based on the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Cytoscape was used to construct the ceRNA networks comprising the lncRNAs-miRNAs-mRNAs axis based on the correlation obtained from the miRcode, miRDB, and TargetScan.

Results

Compared with normal lung tissues, 2355 DElncRNAs, 820 DEmiRNAs, and 17289 DEmRNAs were identified in LUAD tissues. We generated 8 WGCNA core modules in the lncRNAs coexpression network, 5 modules in the miRNAs, and 12 modules in the mRNAs coexpression network, respectively. One lncRNA module (blue) consisting of 441 lncRNAs, two miRNA modules (blue and turquoise) containing 563 miRNAs, and one mRNA module (turquoise), which consisted of 15162 mRNAs, were mostly significantly related to LUAD status. Furthermore, 67 DEmRNAs were found to be tumor-associated as well as the target genes of the DElncRNAs-DEmiRNAs axis. Survival analyses showed that 6 lncRNAs (LINC01447, WWC2-AS2, OGFRP1, LINC00942, LINC01168, and AC005863.1) were significantly correlated with the prognosis of LUAD patients. Ultimately, the potential ceRNA networks including 6 DElncRNAs, 4 DEmiRNAs, and 22 DEmRNAs were constructed.

Conclusion

Our study indicated that 6 DElncRNAs had the possibilities as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for LUAD. The lncRNA-mediated ceRNA networks might provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of LUAD progression.

ANLN Regulated by miR-30a-5p Mediates Malignant Progression of Lung Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

ANLN and miR-30a-5p may be involved in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, their underlying mechanism in LUAD has not been completely comprehended.

METHODS

Differential expression analysis, binding site prediction, and survival analysis were conducted by bioinformatics approaches. ANLN mRNA and miR-30a-5p expression were detected by qRT-PCR. ANLN protein expression was detected by western blot. Cell behaviors in LUAD were examined by functional experiments.

RESULTS

ANLN was activated in LUAD cells in terms of mRNA and protein. High ANLN level was positively correlated with poor prognosis. Enforced ANLN stimulated protumorigenesis LUAD cell behaviors. miR-30a-5p could target ANLN mRNA, as revealed and verified through assays. Remarkably low miR-30a-5p expression was observed in LUAD cells, and it could repress ANLN expression. The accelerated cell behaviors by overexpression of ANLN were counteracted by upregulating miR-30a-5p.

CONCLUSION

Overall, miR-30a-5p remarkably restrained the malignant progression of LUAD cells by constraining ANLN expression. Thus, ANLN and miR-30a-5p could be novel therapeutic targets of LUAD.

Lack of Conserved miRNA Deregulation in HPV-Induced Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in the anogenital and head and neck regions are associated with high-risk types of human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV). Deregulation of miRNA expression is an important contributor to carcinogenesis. This study aimed to pinpoint commonly and uniquely deregulated miRNAs in cervical, anal, vulvar, and tonsillar tumors of viral or non-viral etiology, searching for a common set of deregulated miRNAs linked to HPV-induced carcinogenesis. RNA was extracted from tumors and nonmalignant tissues from the same locations. The miRNA expression level was determined by next-generation sequencing. Differential expression of miRNAs was calculated, and the patterns of miRNA deregulation were compared between tumors. The total of deregulated miRNAs varied between tumors of different locations by two orders of magnitude, ranging from 1 to 282. The deregulated miRNA pool was largely tumor-specific. In tumors of the same location, a low proportion of miRNAs were exclusively deregulated and no deregulated miRNA was shared by all four types of HPV-positive tumors. The most significant overlap of deregulated miRNAs was found between tumors which differed in location and HPV status (HPV-positive cervical tumors vs. HPV-negative vulvar tumors). Our results imply that HPV infection does not elicit a conserved miRNA deregulation in SCCs.

Investigation of Candidate Genes and Pathways in Basal/TNBC Patients by Integrated Analysis

PURPOSE

This study aims to identify the key pathway and related genes and to further explore the potential molecular mechanisms of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

METHODS

The transcriptome data and clinical information of breast cancer patients were downloaded from the TCGA database, including 94 cases of paracancerous tissue, 225 cases of Basal like type, 151 cases of Her2 type, 318 cases of Luminal type A, 281 cases of Luminal type B, and 89 cases of Normal Like type. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on the criteria of |logFC|≥1.5 and adjust P < 0.001.Their functions were annotated by gene ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of differentially expressed genes & Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Cox regression univariate analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves (Log-rank method) were used for survival analysis. FOXD1, DLL3 and LY6D were silenced in breast cancer cell lines, and cell viability was assessed by CCK-8 assay. Further, the expression of FOXD1, DLL3 and LY6D were explored by immunohistochemistry on triple negative breast tumor tissue and normal breast tissue.

RESULTS

A total of 533 DEGs were identified. Functional annotation showed that DEGs were significantly enriched in intermediate filament cytoskeleton, DNA-binding transcription activator activity, epidermis development, and Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. Survival analysis found that FOXD1, DLL3, and LY6D showed significant correlation with the prognosis of patients with the Basal-like type (P < 0.05). CCK-8 assay showed that compared with Doxorubicin alone group, the cytotoxicity of Doxorubicin combined with siRNA-knockdown of FOXD1, DLL3, or LY6D was much significant.

CONCLUSION

The DEGs and their enriched functions and pathways identified in this study contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of TNBC. In addition, FOXD1, DLL3, and LY6D may be defined as the prognostic markers and potential therapeutic targets for TNBC patients.

Long non-coding RNA NORAD contributes to the proliferation, invasion and EMT progression of prostate cancer via the miR-30a-5p/RAB11A/WNT/β-catenin pathway

Background

Prostate cancer (PC) is common male cancer with high mortality worldwide. Emerging evidence demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in various type of cancers including PC by serving as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to modulate microRNAs (miRNAs). LncRNA activated by DNA damage (NORAD) was found to be upregulated in PC cells, while the detailed function and regulatory mechanism of NORAD in PC progression remains largely unclear.

Methods

Expression of NORAD in PC tissues and cell lines were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). NORAD was respectively overexpressed and knocked down by transfection with pcDNA-NORAD and NORAD siRNA into PC-3 and LNCap cells. Cell proliferation, invasion and apoptosis were determined by using CCK-8, Transwell and Flow cytometry assays, respectively. The target correlations between miR-30-5p and NORAD or RAB11A were confirmed by using dual luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, expression levels of RAB11A, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker proteins and the Wnt pathway related proteins were measured by Western blotting. Tumor xenograft assay was used to study the effect of NORAD on tumor growth in vivo.

Results

NORAD was upregulated in PC tissues and cells. Overexpression of NORAD promoted cell proliferation, invasion, EMT, and inhibited cell apoptosis; while knockdown of NORAD had the opposite effect. NORAD was found to be functioned as a ceRNA to bind and downregulated miR-30a-5p that was downregulated in PC tumor tissues. Rescue experiments revealed that miR-30a-5p could weaken the NORAD-mediated promoting effects on cell proliferation, invasion and EMT. Furthermore, RAB11A that belongs to a member of RAS oncogene family was verified as a target of miR-30a-5p, and reintroduction of RAB11A attenuated the effects of miR-30a-5p overexpression on cell proliferation, invasion, EMT and apoptosis of PC cells. More importantly, silencing RAB11A partially reversed the promoting effects of NORAD overexpression on cell proliferation, invasion and EMT of PC cells via the WNT/β-catenin pathway. Lastly, tumorigenicity assay in vivo demonstrated that NORAD increased tumor volume and weight via miR-30a-5p /RAB11A pathway.

Conclusion

Our results indicated a significant role of NORAD in mechanisms associated with PC progression. NORAD promoted cell proliferation, invasion and EMT via the miR-30a-5p/RAB11A/WNT/β-catenin pathway, thus inducing PC tumor growth.

FOXD1 Repression Potentiates Radiation Effectiveness by Downregulating G3BP2 Expression and Promoting the Activation of TXNIP-Related Pathways in Oral Cancer

Simple Summary

Radioresistance remains a critical issue in treating oral cancer patients. This study was thus aimed to identify a potential drug target for enhancing the therapeutic effectiveness of irradiation and uncover a possible mechanism for radioresistance in oral cancer. Here we show that FOXD1, a gene encoding forkhead box d1 (Foxd1), is significantly upregulated in primary tumors compared to normal tissues and serves as a poor prognostic marker in oral cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. FOXD1 repression by a gene knockdown experiment dramatically enhanced the cytotoxic efficacy of irradiation probably via activating the p53-related DNA repairing pathways and reinforcing the T cell-mediated immune responses in oral cancer cells. Our findings demonstrate that FOXD1 may play a pivotal role in conferring radioresistance, which might provide a new strategy to combat the irradiation-insensitive oral cancer cells via therapeutically targeting FOXD1 activity.

Abstract

Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat oral cancer patients in the current clinics; however, a subpopulation of patients shows poor radiosensitivity. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify a biomarker or druggable target to enhance the effectiveness of radiotherapy on oral cancer patients. By performing an in silico analysis against public databases, we found that the upregulation of FOXD1, a gene encoding forkhead box d1 (Foxd1), is extensively detected in primary tumors compared to normal tissues and associated with a poor outcome in oral cancer patients receiving irradiation treatment. Moreover, our data showed that the level of FOXD1 transcript is causally relevant to the effective dosage of irradiation in a panel of oral cancer cell lines. The FOXD1 knockdown (FOXD1-KD) dramatically suppressed the colony-forming ability of oral cancer cells after irradiation treatment. Differentially expressed genes analysis showed that G3BP2, a negative regulator of p53, is predominantly repressed after FOXD1-KD and transcriptionally regulated by Foxd1, as judged by a luciferase-based promoter assay in oral cancer cells. Gene set enrichment analysis significantly predicted the inhibition of E2F-related signaling pathway but the activation of the interferons (IFNs) and p53-associated cellular functions, which were further validated by luciferase reporter assays in the FOXD1-KD oral cancer cells. Robustly, our data showed that FOXD1-KD fosters the expression of TXNIP, a downstream effector of IFN signaling and activator of p53, in oral cancer cells. These findings suggest that FOXD1 targeting might potentiate the anti-cancer effectiveness of radiotherapy and promote immune surveillance on oral cancer.

ADAR1 regulates melanoma cell invasiveness by controlling beta3-integrin via microRNA-30 family members

Melanoma cells utilize multiple mechanisms to exit the primary tumor mass, invade the surroundings and subsequently distant tissues. We have previously reported that the expression of the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1 (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) is downregulated in metastatic melanoma, which facilitates proliferation and invasion. Here we show that ADAR1 controls melanoma invasiveness by regulating ITGB3 expression via miR-30a and miR-30d. ADAR1 overexpression or knockdown leads to an increase or decrease, respectively, in the expression of both microRNAs. The effect is independent of RNA-editing. Dual luciferase assays show that both microRNAs directly regulate the expression of the ITGB3 integrin. Overexpression of the miR-30a or miR-30d lead to a decrease in ITGB3 and a resultant decreased invasive and metastatic capacities. Neutralization of the endogenous miR-30a or miR-30d leads to the opposite effect. The microRNAs regulate ITGB3 levels probably through a post-transcriptional effect, as both mRNA and protein levels of ITGB3 are affected. These results further expand our knowledge on the ADAR1-ITGB3 network and its central role in acquisition of the invasive phenotype of metastatic melanoma.