MTA3 regulates malignant progression of colorectal cancer through Wnt signaling pathway

Sex dimorphism of IL-17-secreting peripheral blood mononuclear cells in ankylosing spondylitis based on bioinformatics analysis and machine learning

BACKGROUND

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with radiographic damage is more prevalent in men than in women. IL-17, which is mainly secreted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), plays an important role in the development of AS. Its expression is different between male and female. However, it is still unclear whether sex dimorphism of IL-17 contribute to sex differences in AS.

METHODS

GSE221786, GSE73754, GSE25101, GSE181364 and GSE205812 datasets were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differential expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed with the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) methods. CIBERSORTx and EcoTyper algorithms were used for immune infiltration analyses. Machine learning based on the XGBoost algorithm model was used to identify the impact of DEGs. The Connectivity Map (CMAP) database was used as a drug discovery tool for exploring potential drugs based on the DEGs.

RESULTS

According to immune infiltration analyses, T cells accounted for the largest proportion of IL-17-secreting PBMCs, and KEGG analyses suggested an enhanced activation of mast cells among male AS patients, whereas the expression of TNF was higher in female AS patients. Other signaling pathways, including those involving metastasis-associated 1 family member 3 (MAT3) or proteasome, were found to be more activated in male AS patients. Regarding metabolic patterns, oxidative phosphorylation pathways and lipid oxidation were significantly upregulated in male AS patients. In XGBoost algorithm model, DEGs including METRN and TMC4 played important roles in the disease process. we integrated the CMAP database for systematic analyses of polypharmacology and drug repurposing, which indicated that atorvastatin, famciclocir, ATN-161 and taselisib may be applicable to the treatment of AS.

CONCLUSIONS

We analyzed the sex dimorphism of IL-17-secreting PBMCs in AS. The results showed that mast cell activation was stronger in males, while the expression of TNF was higher in females. In addition, through machine learning and the CMAP database, we found that genes such as METRN and TMC4 may promote the development of AS, and drugs such as atorvastatin potentially could be used for AS treatment.

Function of TRPC1 in modulating hepatocellular carcinoma progression

The liver is the main organ of metabolism in the human body, and it is easy to suffer from hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and other diseases, the most serious of which is liver cancer. Worldwide, liver cancer is the most common and deadly malignant tumor, the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. Based on TCGA and ICGC databases, our research discovered the important role of TRPC1 in liver cancer through bioinformatics. The results showed that TRPC1 was over-expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the higher the expression level of TRPC1, the worse the OS and the lower the survival rate. TRPC1 was a risk factor affecting the overall survival probability of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. By analyzing the function of the TRP family in liver cancer, TRPC1 might promote the occurrence of liver cancer by up-regulating common signal pathways in tumors such as tumor proliferation signature, and down-regulating important metabolic reactions such as retinol metabolism. In addition, TRPC1 could promote the development of liver cancer by up-regulating the expression of ABI2, MAPRE1, YEATS2, MTA3, TMEM237, MTMR2, CCDC6, AC069544.2, and NCBP2 genes. These results illustrate that TRPC1 is very valuable in the study of liver cancer.

Molecular Mechanisms of Action of Emodin: As an Anti-Cardiovascular Disease Drug

Emodin is a natural occurring anthraquinone derivative isolated from roots and barks of numerous plants, molds, and lichens. It is found to be an active ingredient in different Chinese herbs including Rheum palmatum and Polygonam multiflorum, and it is a pleiotropic molecule with diuretic, vasorelaxant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Moreover, emodin has also been shown to have a wide activity of anti-cardiovascular diseases. It is mainly involved in multiple molecular targets such as inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, anti-hypertrophy, anti-fibrosis, anti-oxidative damage, abnormal, and excessive proliferation of smooth muscle cells in cardiovascular diseases. As a new type of cardiovascular disease treatment drug, emodin has broad application prospects. However, a large amount of evidences detailing the effect of emodin on many signaling pathways and cellular functions in cardiovascular disease, the overall understanding of its mechanisms of action remains elusive. In addition, by describing the evidence of the effects of emodin in detail, the toxicity and poor oral bioavailability of mice have been continuously discovered. This review aims to describe a timely overview of emodin related to the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The emphasis is to summarize the pharmacological effects of emodin as an anti-cardiovascular drug, as well as the targets and its potential mechanisms. Furthermore, the treatment of emodin compared with conventional cardiovascular drugs or target inhibitors, the toxicity, pharmacokinetics and derivatives of emodin were discussed.

High expression of PLAC1 in colon cancer as a predictor of poor prognosis: A study based on TCGA data

Colon cancer is one of the most common diseases in the world with both a high incidence and high mortality. PLAC1 is activated and expressed in many cancers. We aim to explore the relationship between PLAC1 expression and prognosis in colon cancer patient. The RNA-Seq expression data and clinical information of colon cancer were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially expressed PLAC1 was obtained by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test; the significance difference being that PLAC1 was more highly expressed in tumor rather than normal tissue (p < 0.01). Then patients were classified into high and low risk groups by different risk scores, and the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that colon cancer patients with a high PLAC1 expression had a poorer prognosis than low PLAC1 expression patients (p = 0.0031). Next, in analyzing the clinical pathology associated with PLAC1 expression, logistic regression showed that PLAC1 was expressed high in stage (OR = 4.11 for I vs. IV), lymph nodes (OR = 1.73 for N0 vs. N1+), distant metastasis (OR = 2.8 for M0 vs. M1), and status (OR = 22.81 for normal vs. tumor). Univariate and multivariate cox analyses were employed to identify that PLAC1 could be regarded as an independent prognostic factor. Univariate cox analysis showed PLAC1 had a correlation to overall survival (OS) (HR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.28-0.77, p = 0.003). Multivariate cox analysis revealed that PLAC1 (HR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.30-0.86, p = 0.012) could be regarded as an Independent prognostic factor. We also used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to test if PLAC1 was differently expressed in cell lines. The qRT-PCR obtained the significant results that PLAC1 expressed high in colon cancer cell lines (p < 0.05). Finally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was utilized to show 14 enriched signaling pathways. Our study discovered that high expression of PLAC1 predicts poor prognosis in colon cancer patients, providing a new biomarker, which can assist physicians in finding new diagnostic and therapy methods for colon cancer.

DDX5 Silencing Suppresses the Migration of Basal cell Carcinoma Cells by Downregulating JAK2/STAT3 Pathway

Basal cell carcinoma is driven by the aberrant activation of hedgehog signaling. DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 is frequently overexpressed in human cancer cells and associated with the tumor growth and invasion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 in the growth, migration, and invasion of basal cell carcinoma. The role of DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling assay in basal cell carcinoma cells. The associations between JAK2/STAT3 pathway and DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 were analyzed in basal cell carcinoma cells. Results showed that DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 is overexpressed in basal cell carcinoma cells. DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 knockdown inhibited the migration and invasion of basal cell carcinoma cells. DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 knockdown increased the apoptosis of basal cell carcinoma cells induced by tunicamycin. Results found that DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 knockdown increased JAK2 and STAT3 expression in basal cell carcinoma cells. JAK2 inhibitor decreased STAT3 expression and abolished the inhibitory effects of DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 silencing on migration and invasion in basal cell carcinoma cells. In conclusion, these results indicate that DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box protein 5 is a potential target for inhibiting basal cell carcinoma cells growth, migration, and invasion by downregulating JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

Overexpression of circ_0021093 circular RNA forecasts an unfavorable prognosis and facilitates cell progression by targeting the miR-766-3p/MTA3 pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

Increasing studies have demonstrated the important roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in human malignancies. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms and functions of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still not fully understood. In the present study, we evaluated circ_0021093 expression in 82 pairs of HCC tissues and 5 cell lines by qRT-PCR. The clinical implications of circ_0021093 were evaluated. In addition, the viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion capacities of different HCC cells were evaluated by gain-/loss-of-function experiments. Target prediction and dual-luciferase reporter experiments were performed to identify the molecular mechanisms of circ_0021093. Upregulation of circ_0021093 was found in HCC tumor samples and cells. Additionally, upregulated circ_0021093 was related to adverse clinical characteristics and an unfavorable prognosis. Furthermore, downregulated circ_0021093 attenuated cell growth, migration and invasion but increased cell apoptosis. By contrast, ectopically expressed circ_0021093 enhanced the abovementioned malignant biological behaviors. For mechanism exploration, circ_0021093 sponges of miR-766-3p were used in HCC cells. In addition, we found that metastasis-associated protein 3 (MTA3) was a direct target of miR-766-3p and that the oncogenic function of circ_0021093 was partly dependent on the miR-766-3p/MTA3 axis according to rescue assays. In conclusion, the circ_0021093/miR-766-3p/MTA3 regulatory axis may be an effective therapeutic target for HCC.

Emodin alleviates cardiac fibrosis by suppressing activation of cardiac fibroblasts via upregulating metastasis associated protein 3

Excess activation of cardiac fibroblasts inevitably induces cardiac fibrosis. Emodin has been used as a natural medicine against several chronic diseases. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of emodin on cardiac fibrosis and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Intragastric administration of emodin markedly decreased left ventricular wall thickness in a mouse model of pathological cardiac hypertrophy with excess fibrosis induced by transaortic constriction (TAC) and suppressed activation of cardiac fibroblasts induced by angiotensin II (AngII). Emodin upregulated expression of metastasis associated protein 3 (MTA3) and restored the MTA3 expression in the setting of cardiac fibrosis. Moreover, overexpression of MTA3 promoted cardiac fibrosis; in contrast, silence of MTA3 abrogated the inhibitory effect of emodin on fibroblast activation. Our findings unraveled the potential of emodin to alleviate cardiac fibrosis via upregulating MTA3 and highlight the regulatory role of MTA3 in the development of cardiac fibrosis.

Longitudinal study of leukocyte DNA methylation and biomarkers for cancer risk in older adults

Background

Changes in DNA methylation over the course of life may provide an indicator of risk for cancer. We explored longitudinal changes in CpG methylation from blood leukocytes, and likelihood of future cancer diagnosis.

Methods

Peripheral blood samples were obtained at baseline and at follow-up visit from 20 participants in the Health, Aging and Body Composition prospective cohort study. Genome-wide CpG methylation was assayed using the Illumina Infinium Human MethylationEPIC (HM850K) microarray.

Results

Global patterns in DNA methylation from CpG-based analyses showed extensive changes in cell composition over time in participants who developed cancer. By visit year 6, the proportion of CD8+ T-cells decreased (p-value = 0.02), while granulocytes cell levels increased (p-value = 0.04) among participants diagnosed with cancer compared to those who remained cancer-free (cancer-free vs. cancer-present: 0.03 ± 0.02 vs. 0.003 ± 0.005 for CD8+ T-cells; 0.52 ± 0.14 vs. 0.66 ± 0.09 for granulocytes). Epigenome-wide analysis identified three CpGs with suggestive p-values ≤10^− 5 for differential methylation between cancer-free and cancer-present groups, including a CpG located in MTA3, a gene linked with metastasis. At a lenient statistical threshold (p-value ≤3 × 10^− 5), the top 10 cancer-associated CpGs included a site near RPTOR that is involved in the mTOR pathway, and the candidate tumor suppressor genes REC8, KCNQ1, and ZSWIM5. However, only the CpG in RPTOR (cg08129331) was replicated in an independent data set. Analysis of within-individual change from baseline to Year 6 found significant correlations between the rates of change in methylation in RPTOR, REC8 and ZSWIM5, and time to cancer diagnosis.

Conclusion

The results show that changes in cellular composition explains much of the cross-sectional and longitudinal variation in CpG methylation. Additionally, differential methylation and longitudinal dynamics at specific CpGs could provide powerful indicators of cancer development and/or progression. In particular, we highlight CpG methylation in the RPTOR gene as a potential biomarker of cancer that awaits further validation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40364-019-0161-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.