Influence of miR-376c-3p/SYF2 Axis on the Progression of Gastric Cancer

Genome-wide comparison and in silico analysis of splicing factor SYF2/NTC31/p29 in eukaryotes: Special focus on vertebrates

The gene SYF2—an RNA splicing factor—can interact with Cyclin D-type binding protein 1 (GICP) in many biological processes, including splicing regulation, cell cycle regulation, and DNA damage repair. In our previous study we performed genome-wide identification and functional analysis of SYF2 in plant species. The phylogenetic relationships and expression profiles of SYF2 have not been systematically studied in animals, however. To this end, the gene structure, genes, and protein conserved motifs of 102 SYF2 homologous genes from 91 different animal species were systematically analyzed, along with conserved splicing sites in 45 representative vertebrate species. A differential comparative analysis of expression patterns in humans and mice was made. Molecular bioinformatics analysis of SYF2 showed the gene was conserved and functional in different animal species. In addition, expression pattern analysis found that SYF2 was highly expressed in hematopoietic stem cells, T cells, and lymphoid progenitor cells; in ovary, lung, and spleen; and in other cells and organs. This suggests that changes in SYF2 expression may be associated with disease development in these cells, tissues, or organs. In conclusion, our study analyzes the SYF2 disease resistance genes of different animal species through bioinformatics, reveals the relationship between the SYF2 genotype and the occurrence of certain diseases, and provides a theoretical basis for follow-up study of the relationship between the SYF2 gene and animal diseases.

Clinical value of miR-135 and miR-20a combined with multi-detector computed tomography in the diagnosis of gastric cancer

Background

To study the clinical value of miR-135 and miR-20a combined with multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) in the diagnosis of gastric cancer (GC).

Method

A total of 146 patients with GC admitted to our hospital from January 2017 to June 2019 were selected and enrolled in the GC group. Another 103 patients with gastritis received in the same period were selected for the non-GC group. Besides, 95 healthy subjects who received physical examination in our hospital were selected into the healthy control group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of serum miR-135 and miR-20a for each group. MDCT was used for detecting the clinical staging map of the enrolled patients. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum miR-135 and miR-20a in patients with GC. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to analyze value of miR-135 and miR-20a in the diagnosis of GC.

Results

Compared with non-GC group and healthy control group, the levels of serum miR-135 and miR-20a increased significantly in the GC group, while no significant difference was found between non-GC group and healthy control group (P > 0.05). Analysis of the relationship with clinical characteristics showed that the expression of serum miR-135 and miR-20a in the GC group was significantly correlated with the progression of GC, TNM stage, degrees of differentiation, status of lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis (P < 0.01). Pearson’s correlation analysis results showed positive correlations between miR-135 and miR-20a (r = 0.634, P = 0.000). The ROC analysis results showed that the optimal diagnostic values of miR-135 and miR-20a for GC were 7.56 and 5.82 respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.873 and 0.793 respectively. The 95% confidence interval (CI) was 0.811-0.935 and 0.697-0.890 respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of miR-135 and miR-20a combined with MDCT in the diagnosis of GC were 90.41% and 93.20% respectively. The sensitivity of combined use was significantly higher than that of single detection (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

There are high expression levels of serum miR-135 and miR-20a in patients with GC. A combined detection of miR-135 and miR-20a with MDCT can improve the diagnostic sensitivity of GC and improve the accuracy of the final diagnosis. Therefore, multiple combined detection is valuable in the diagnosis of GC.

Inhibited HDAC3 promotes microRNA-376c-3p to suppress malignant phenotypes of gastric cancer cells by reducing WNT2b

OBJECTIVE

Our study aims to identify the impact of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) and microRNA-376c-3p (miR-376c-3p) on gastric cancer (GC) by targeting wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 2b (WNT2b).

METHODS

Levels of miR-376c-3p, HDAC3 and WNT2b were assessed. GC cells were treated with altered HDAC3 or miR-376c-3p to evaluate their biological functions, and rescue experiment was performed to assess the effect of WNT2b on GC cells. The tumor growth in vivo was observed.

RESULTS

HDAC3 and WNT2b were up-regulated while miR-376c-3p was reduced in GC tissues and cell lines. The inhibited HDAC3 or elevated miR-376c-3p could restrain malignant behaviors of GC cells in vitro, and also suppress the xenograft growth. WNT2b silencing reduced the effect of miR-376c-3p inhibition while WNT2b overexpression mitigated that of miR-376c-3p promotion on GC cell growth.

CONCLUSION

Inhibiting HDAC3 promotes miR-376c-3p to suppress malignant phenotypes of GC cells via reducing WNT2b, thereby restricting GC development.

Hsa-circ_0000064 accelerates the malignant progression of gastric cancer via sponging microRNA-621

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common digestive system tumors in the world. Many circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in the progression of GC. The purpose of this study was to delve into the expression characteristics and biological functions of circ_0000064 in GC, and further study its mechanisms. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect circ_0000064 expression in 61 GC tissues and cell lines. Circ_0000064 knockdown was successfully modeled with siRNA. The effects of circ_0000064 on the biological functions of GC cells were analyzed by CCK-8, BrdU, and Transwell assays. Bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were adopted to explore the relations between circ_0000064 and microRNA-621 (miR-621). Western blot was used to examine the regulatory function of circ_0000064 and miR-621 on SYF2 pre-mRNA splicing factor 2. Cric_0000064 expression was elevated in GC tissues and cell lines. Knocking down cric_0000064 could inhibit the viability, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay showed that miR-621 could bind circ_0000064 and SYF2 3'UTR; in addition, miR-621 overexpression or SYF2 knockdown could partially weaken the cancer-promoting effect of circ_0000064 on GC cells. Circ_0000064 expression was negatively correlated with miR-621 expression in GC tissues while positively with SYF2 expression. Circ_0000064 can participate in the GC progression via modulating miR-621/SYF2 axis. This implies that circ_0000064 may be a new diagnosed biomarker or a new therapeutic target of GC.

CRISPR/Cas9 uPAR Gene Knockout Results in Tumor Growth Inhibition, EGFR Downregulation and Induction of Stemness Markers in Melanoma and Colon Carcinoma Cell Lines

uPAR is a globular protein, tethered to the cell membrane by a GPI-anchor involved in several cancer-related properties and its overexpression commonly correlates with poor prognosis and metastasis. We investigated the consequences of uPAR irreversible loss in human melanoma and colon cancer cell lines, knocking out its expression by CRISPR/Cas9. We analyzed through flow cytometry, western blotting and qPCR, the modulation of the most known cancer stem cells-associated genes and the EGFR while we observed the proliferation rate exploiting 2D and 3D cellular models. We also generated uPAR “rescue” expression cell lines as well as we promoted the expression of only its 3’UTR to demonstrate the involvement of uPAR mRNA in tumor progression. Knocking out PLAUR, uPAR-encoding gene, we observed an inhibited growth ratio unexpectedly coupled with a significant percentage of cells acquiring a stem-like phenotype. In vivo experiments demonstrated that uPAR loss completely abrogates tumorigenesis despite the gained stem-like profile. Nonetheless, we proved that the reintroduction of the 3’UTR of PLAUR gene was sufficient to restore the wild-type status validating the hypothesis that such a region may act as a “molecular sponge”. In particular miR146a, by binding PLAUR 3’ UTR region might be responsible for uPAR-dependent inhibition of EGFR expression.

Exome hits demystified: The next frontier

Severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have complex inheritance patterns, involving both common and rare variants. Whole exome sequencing is a promising approach to find out the rare genetic variants. We had previously reported several rare variants in multiplex families with severe mental illnesses. The current article tries to summarise the biological processes and pattern of expression of genes harbouring the aforementioned variants, linking them to known clinical manifestations through a methodical narrative review. Of the 28 genes considered for this review from 7 families with multiple affected individuals, 6 genes are implicated in various neuropsychiatric manifestations including some variations in the brain morphology assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Another 15 genes, though associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations, did not have established brain morphological changes whereas the remaining 7 genes did not have any previously recorded neuropsychiatric manifestations at all. Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway was associated with 6 of these genes and PI3K/AKT, calcium signaling, ERK, RhoA and notch signaling pathways had at least 2 gene associations. We present a comprehensive review of biological and clinical knowledge about the genes previously reported in multiplex families with severe mental illness. A 'disease in dish approach' can be helpful to further explore the fundamental mechanisms.

Loading MicroRNA-376c in Extracellular Vesicles Inhibits Properties of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells by Targeting YTHDF1

Objective:

Extracellular vesicles (Evs) secreted from cells have been revealed to mediate signal transduction between cells. Nevertheless, the mechanisms through which molecules transported by EVs function remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the functional relevance of endothelial cells (ECs)-secreted Evs carrying microRNA-376c (miR-376c) in the biological activities of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells was investigated, including the related mechanisms.

Methods:

Two cell lines with the highest YTH N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA binding protein 1 (YTHDF1) expression were selected for subsequent experiments. Cellular proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were measured by EdU, wound healing, Transwell assays and flow cytometry, respectively. The binding relationship between miR-376c and YTHDF1 was analyzed by dual-luciferase reporter assays. The miR-376c, YTHDF1 and β-catenin expression was evaluated by qPCR assays and western blot assays.

Results:

The expression patterns of YTHDF1 were higher in NSCLC cells, whereas miR-376c was reduced versus the normal bronchial epithelial cells. Silencing of YTHDF1 repressed NSCLC cell proliferation, invasion and migration abilities, whereas enhanced apoptosis. miR-376c negatively modulated YTHDF1 expression. Under co-culture conditions, ECs transmitted miR-376c into NSCLC cells through Evs, and inhibited the intracellular YTHDF1 expression and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation. Rescue experiments revealed that YTHDF1 overexpression reversed the inhibitory role of miR-376c released by EC-Evs in NSCLC cells.

Conclusion:

EC-delivered Evs inhibit YTHDF1 expression and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway induction via miR-376c overexpression, thus inhibiting the malignant phenotypes of NSCLC cells.

GOLPH3 Regulates Exosome miRNA Secretion in Glioma Cells

We aimed to examine whether golgi protein GOLPH3 could affect the secretion of glioma cell-derived exosomes. The exosomes were extracted by ultra-centrifugation from the supernatant of U251 and U87 cell cultures and identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Malvern analyzer, and western blot. The quantity of exosomes was examined by measuring the total protein levels and the number of multiple vesicle bodies (MVBs), the source of exosomes. The exosome miRNAs were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing followed by GO and KEGG analysis, and validated by qRT-PCR. GOLPH3 could not affect the total protein levels of exosomes and the number of MVBs. However, we found 149 differentially expressed miRNAs in exosomes between vector and GOLPH3 over-expression group, and 14 miRNAs were only examined in GOLPH3 over-expression cells. The predicted target genes of these miRNAs had functions in binding and catalytic activity, which were enriched in the pathways of endocytosis, RNA transportation, thyroid hormone signaling and miRNAs in cancer. GOLPH3 could not affect the quantity of exosomes, but rather contribute to miRNA expression in exosomes, which may play some functions in the promotion effect of GOLPH3 on glioma development.