TMEM60 Promotes the Proliferation and Migration and Inhibits the Apoptosis of Glioma through Modulating AKT Signaling

Retracted: TMEM60 Promotes the Proliferation and Migration and Inhibits the Apoptosis of Glioma through Modulating AKT Signaling

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/9913700.].

The new oncogene transmembrane protein 60 is a potential therapeutic target in glioma

Glioma is a malignant tumor with a high fatality rate, originating in the central nervous system. Even after standard treatment, the prognosis remains unsatisfactory, probably due to the lack of effective therapeutic targets. The family of transmembrane proteins (TMEM) is a large family of genes that encode proteins closely related to the malicious behavior of tumors. Thus, it is necessary to explore the molecular and clinical characteristics of newly identified oncogenes, such as transmembrane protein 60 (TMEM60), to develop effective treating options for glioma. We used bioinformatic methods and basic experiments to verify the expression of transmembrane protein 60 in gliomas and its relationship with 1p and 19q (1p19q) status, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status, patient prognosis, and immune cell infiltration using public databases and clinical samples. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to detect co-expressed genes. Thus, we inhibited the expression of transmembrane protein 60 to observe the proliferation and activity of glioma LN229 cells. We found transmembrane protein 60 was significantly upregulated in glioma compared with that in normal brain tissue at the mRNA. In the subgroups of World Health Organization high grade, isocitrate dehydrogenase wildtype, 1p and 19q non-codeletion, or isocitrate dehydrogenase wild combined with 1p and 19q non-codeletion, the expression of transmembrane protein 60 increased, and the prognosis of glioma patients worsened. In the transmembrane protein 60 high expression group, infiltration of immune cells and stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment increased, tumor purity decreased, and immune cells and pathways were activated. The immune cells mainly included regulatory T-cell, gamma delta T-cell, macrophages M0, neutrophils, and CD8⁺ T-cells. Overexpression of co-inhibitory receptors (CTLA4, PDL1 and CD96) may promote the increase of depletion of T-cell, thus losing the anti-tumor function in the transmembrane protein 60 high expression group. Finally, we found that transmembrane protein 60 silencing weakened the viability, proliferation, and colony formation of glioma LN229 cells. This is the 0 report on the abnormally high expression of transmembrane protein 60 in glioma and its related clinical features, such as tumor microenvironment, immune response, tumor heterogeneity, and patient prognosis. We also found that transmembrane protein 60 silencing weakened the proliferation and colony formation of glioma LN229 cells. Thus, the new oncogene transmembrane protein 60 might be an effective therapeutic target for the clinical treatment of glioma.

SENP3 promotes tumor progression and is a novel prognostic biomarker in triple-negative breast cancer

Background

The clinical outcome of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is poor. Finding more targets for the treatment of TNBC is an urgent need. SENPs are SUMO-specific proteins that play an important role in SUMO modification. Among several tumor types, SENPs have been identified as relevant biomarkers for progression and prognosis. The role of SENPs in TNBC is not yet clear.

Methods

The expression and prognosis of SENPs in TNBC were analyzed by TCGA and GEO data. SENP3 coexpression regulatory networks were determined by weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Cox univariate analyses were used to develop a risk signature based on genes associated with SENP3. A time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed to evaluate a risk signature's predictive accuracy and sensitivity. Moreover, a nomogram was constructed to facilitate clinical application.

Results

The prognostic and expression effects of SENP family genes were validated using the TCGA and GEO databases. SENP3 was found to be the only gene in the SENP family that was highly expressed and associated with an unfavorable prognosis in TNBC patients. Cell functional experiments showed that knockdown of SENP3 leads to growth, invasion, and migration inhibition of TNBC cells in vitro. By using WGCNA, 273 SENP3-related genes were identified. Finally, 11 SENP3-related genes were obtained from Cox univariate analysis and LASSO regression. Based on this, a prognostic risk prediction model was established. The risk signature of SENP3-related genes was verified as an independent prognostic marker for TNBC patients.

Conclusion

Among SENP family genes, we found that SENP3 was overexpressed in TNBC and associated with a worse prognosis. SENP3 knockdown can inhibit tumor proliferation, invasion, and migration. In TNBC patients, a risk signature based on the expression of 11 SENP3-related genes may improve prognosis prediction. The established risk markers may be promising prognostic biomarkers that can guide the individualized treatment of TNBC patients.

Interfering with CALCRL expression inhibits glioma proliferation, promotes apoptosis, and predicts prognosis in low-grade gliomas

Background

CALCRL is involved in a variety of key biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. However, the role of CALCRL in glioma remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of differential CALCRL expression on the malignant progression of glioma and its value in glioma prognosis.

Methods

Sequencing data from glioma and normal tissues were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, and the downloaded data were statistically analyzed using bioinformatics tools and the corresponding R package. The expression of CALCRL in normal brain tissue and different grades of glioma tissue was detected by pathological and immunohistochemical staining of clinical glioma specimens. The expression of CALCRL in different glioma cell lines was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the U87 cell line with high expression was selected to construct the CALCRL knockdown model by transfection with short hairpin (shRNA). The cell proliferation ability was detected by Celigo assay and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, the ability of cell clone formation was detected by clone formation assay, and the level of apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.

Results

The expression of CALCRL in glioma was significantly upregulated compared with that of normal tissue, especially in low-grade glioma (LGG) compared to glioblastoma, and the differential expression of CALCRL correlated significantly with the prognosis of LGG. Clinical pathology and immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of CALCRL was related to the pathological grade of glioma, and the highest expression was found in World Health Organization (WHO) grade Ⅲ glioma. The results of qRT-PCR showed that CALCRL expression was highest in the U87 cell line. After knockdown of CALCRL expression, the proliferation and clonogenic ability of U87 cells were significantly decreased, and the apoptosis rate was significantly increased.

Conclusions

CALCRL is highly expressed in LGG. Interfering with CALCRL expression inhibits glioma cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis, and thus has potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target for the prognosis of those with LGGs.

Latest updates on cellular and molecular biomarkers of gliomas

Gliomas are the most common central nervous system malignancies, compromising almost 80% of all brain tumors and is associated with significant mortality. The classification of gliomas has shifted from basic histological perspective to one that is based on molecular biomarkers. Treatment of this type of tumors consists currently of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During the past years, there was a limited development of effective glioma diagnostics and therapeutics due to multiple factors including the presence of blood-brain barrier and the heterogeneity of this type of tumors. Currently, it is necessary to highlight the advantage of molecular diagnosis of gliomas to develop patient targeted therapies based on multiple oncogenic pathway. In this review, we will evaluate the development of cellular and molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of gliomas and the impact of these diagnostic tools for better tailored and targeted therapies.