MiR-196b Promotes the Invasion and Migration of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells by Targeting AQP4

Exosomal miR-196b secreted from bronchial epithelial cells chronically exposed to low-dose PM2.5 promotes invasiveness of adjacent and lung cancer cells

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a risk factor for pulmonary diseases and lung cancer, and inhaled PM2.5 is mainly deposited in the bronchial epithelium. In this study, we investigated the effect of long-term exposure to low-dose PM2.5 on BEAS-2B cells derived from the normal bronchial epithelium. BEAS-2B cells chronically exposed to a concentration of 5 µg/ml PM2.5 for 30 passages displayed the phenotype promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell invasion. Cellular internalization of exosomes (designated PM2.5 Exo) extracted from BEAS-2B cells chronically exposed to low-dose PM2.5 promoted cell invasion in vitro and metastatic potential in vivo. Hence, to identify the key players driving phenotypic alterations, we analyzed microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in PM2.5 Exo. Five miRNAs with altered expression were selected: miRNA-196b-5p, miR-135a-2-5p, miR-3117-3p, miR-218-5p, and miR-497-5p. miR-196b-5p was the most upregulated in both BEAS-2B cells and isolated exosomes after PM2.5 exposure. In a functional validation study, genetically modified exosomes overexpressing a miR-196b-5p mimic induced an enhanced invasive phenotype in BEAS-2B cells. Conversely, miR-196b-5p inhibition diminished the PM2.5-enhanced EMT and cell invasion. These findings indicate that exosomal miR-196b-5p may be a candidate biomarker for predicting the malignant behavior of the bronchial epithelium and a therapeutic target for inhibiting PM2.5-triggered pathogenesis.

A Novel High-Dimensional Kernel Joint Non-Negative Matrix Factorization With Multimodal Information for Lung Cancer Study

Judging and identifying biological activities and biomarkers inside tissues from imaging features of diseases is challenging, so correlating pathological image data with genes inside organisms is of great significance for clinical diagnosis. This paper proposes a high-dimensional kernel non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) method based on muti-modal information fusion. This algorithm can project RNA gene expression data and pathological images (WSI) into a common feature space, where the heterogeneous variables with the largest coefficient in the same projection direction form a co-module. In addition, the miRNA-mRNA and miRNA-lncRNA interaction networks in the ceRNA network are added to the algorithm as a priori information to explore the relationship between the images and the internal activities of the gene. Furthermore, the radial basis kernel function is used to calculate the feature proportion between different kinds of genes mapped in the high-dimensional feature space and projected into the common feature space to explore the gene interaction in the high-dimensional situation. The original feature matrix is regularized to improve biological correlation, and the feature factors are sparse by orthogonal constraints to reduce redundancy. Experimental results show that the proposed NMF method is better than the traditional NMF method in stability, decomposition accuracy, and robustness. Through data analysis applied to lung cancer, genes related to tissue morphology are found, such as COL7A1, CENPF and BIRC5. In addition, gene pairs with a correlation degree exceeding 0.8 are found, and potential biomarkers of significant correlation with survival are obtained such as CAPN8. It has potential application value for the clinical diagnosis of lung cancer.

MicroRNA‑mediated regulation in lung adenocarcinoma: Signaling pathways and potential therapeutic implications (Review)

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) poses a significant global health burden owing to its high incidence rate and unfavorable prognosis, driven by frequent recurrence and drug resistance. Understanding the biological mechanisms underlying LUAD is imperative to developing advanced therapeutic strategies. Recent research has highlighted the role of dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in LUAD progression through diverse signaling pathways, including the Wnt and AKT pathways. Of particular interest is the novel pathological mechanism involving the interaction between competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and miRNAs. This review critically analyzed the impact of aberrant miRNA expression on LUAD development, shedding light on the associated signaling pathways. It also highlighted the emerging significance of ceRNA‑miRNA interactions in LUAD pathogenesis. Elucidating the intricate regulatory networks involving miRNAs and ceRNAs presents a promising avenue for the development of potential therapeutic interventions and diagnostic biomarkers in LUAD. Further research in this area is essential to advance precision medicine approaches and improve patient outcomes.

AQP4 is an Emerging Regulator of Pathological Pain: A Narrative Review

Pathological pain presents significant challenges in clinical practice and research. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4), which is primarily found in astrocytes, is being considered as a prospective modulator of pathological pain. This review examines the association between AQP4 and pain-related diseases, including cancer pain, neuropathic pain, and inflammatory pain. In cancer pain, upregulated AQP4 expression in tumor cells is linked to increased pain severity, potentially through tumor-induced inflammation and edema. Targeting AQP4 may offer therapeutic strategies for managing cancer pain. AQP4 has also been found to play a role in nerve damage. Changes in AQP4 expression have been detected in pain-related regions of the brain and spinal cord; thus, modulating AQP4 expression or function may provide new avenues for treating neuropathic pain. Of note, AQP4-deficient mice exhibit reduced chronic pain responses, suggesting potential involvement of AQP4 in chronic pain modulation, and AQP4 is involved in pain modulation during inflammation, so understanding AQP4-mediated pain modulation may lead to novel anti-inflammatory and analgesic therapies. Recent advancements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques enable assessment of AQP4 expression and localization, contributing to our understanding of its involvement in brain edema and clearance pathways related to pathological pain. Furthermore, targeting AQP4 through gene therapies and small-molecule modulators shows promise as a potential therapeutic intervention. Future research should focus on utilizing advanced MRI techniques to observe glymphatic system changes and the exchange of cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial fluid. Additionally, investigating the regulation of AQP4 by non-coding RNAs and exploring novel small-molecule medicines are important directions for future research. This review shed light on AQP4-based innovative therapeutic strategies for the treatment of pathological pain. Dark blue cells represent astrocytes, green cells represent microglia, and red ones represent brain microvasculature.

miR-6742-5p regulates the invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells via mediating FGF8/ERK12/MMP9/MMP2 signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the progression of Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), however, the functions of miR-6742-5p in LUAD remains unknown, thereby this study was carried on.

METHODS

The mRNA and miRNA expression data from the LUAD and normal control were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, TargetScan and mirDIP were applied to predict the relationship between miR-6742-5p and FGF8.Q-PCR, western blot, dual-luciferase, wound Healing and transwell assays were performed to test the functions of miR-6742-5p in LUAD.

RESULTS

Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase identified FGF8 is the target-gene of miR-6742-5p, which is declined in LUAD of human tissues and cell lines, and miR-6742-5P OE suppressed the progression of LUAD in nude mice. MiR-6742-5p OE and KD suppressed or increased the abilities of LUAD' metastasis tested by wound healing and transwell assays H522 and PC-9 cells, these effects about miR-6742-5p OE were reversed by FGF8; miR-6742-5p OE, KD inhibited and increased the expression of FGF8 as its downstream p-ERK1/2, MMP-2/-9, these results were corrected by ERK1/2 inhibitor: Ro 67-7476; the miR-6742-5p KD increased the migrated and invaded cells and suppressed by MMPs inhibitor: S3304. These results identified the negative correlation of miR-6742-5p with FGF8-ERK1/2 signal pathway in LUAD progression.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that miR-6742-5p might be a regulator of LUAD progression by targeting FGF8/ERK1/2/MMPs signaling pathway, which provides a novel therapeutic target for LUAD.

Expression Profiles of AQP3 and AQP4 in Lung Adenocarcinoma Samples Generated via Bronchoscopic Biopsies

Aquaporins (AQPs) are highly conserved channel proteins which are mainly responsible for the exchange of water and small molecules and have shown to play a pivotal role in the development and progression of cancer. Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common primary lung cancer seen in patients in Europe and the United States. However, in patients it is often not diagnosed until the advanced tumor stage is present. Previous studies provided strong evidence that some members of the AQP family could serve as clinical biomarkers for different diseases. Therefore, we aimed to investigate how AQP3 and AQP4 protein expression in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) biopsy samples correlate with clinical and pathological parameters. The protein expression of AQP3 and AQP4 was analyzed based on immunohistochemical staining. AQP3 protein was observed in the cytoplasmic membrane of cancer tissue in 82% of lung samples. Significant differences in relative protein expression of AQP3 were noted between advanced age patients compared to younger counterparts (p = 0.017). A high expression of AQP3 was significant in cancer tissue when compared to the control group (p < 0.001), whereas a low AQP4 membrane expression was noted as significantly common in cancer tissue compared to non-neoplastic lung tissue (p < 0.001). Moreover, a low AQP4 membrane expression was positively correlated with a more advanced disease status, e.g., lymph node metastases (p = 0.046). Based on our findings, AQP3 and AQP4 could be used as biomarkers in ADC patients.

Comprehensive Analysis of Aquaporin Superfamily in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most predomintnt lung cancer subtype with increasing morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have shown that aquaporin (AQP) family genes were correlated with tumor progression and metastasis in several kinds of malignancies. However, their biological behaviors and prognostic values in LUAD have not been comprehensively elucidated.

Methods: RNA sequencing and real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) were used to assess AQP1/3/4/5 gene expressions in LUAD patients using GEPIA and UALCAN databases. And then Kaplan–Meier analysis, cBioPortal, Metascape, GeneMANIA, TISIDB, and TIMER were utilized to determine the prognostic value, mutation frequency, and immune cell infiltration of AQP family members in LUAD.

Results: We found that AQP3 expression was significantly elevated and AQP1 expression was markedly reduced in LUAD patients, whereas the expression levels of AQP4 and AQP5 exhibited no significant changes. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that the higher expressions of AQP1/4/5 were related to longer overall survival (OS). Of interest, AQP3 was significantly correlated with the clinical tumor stage and lower AQP3 expression showed favorable prognosis in stage I LUAD patients, which indicated that AQP3 may be a potential prognostic biomarker for patients. Through functional enrichment analysis, the functions of these four AQPs genes were mainly involved in the passive transport by aquaporins, water homeostasis, and protein tetramerization. Moreover, AQP1/3/4/5 expression was strongly associated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in LUAD.

Conclusion: AQP3 can be used as a prognosis and survival biomarker for stage I LUAD. These findings may provide novel insights into developing molecular targeted therapies in LUAD.

Identification of serum prognostic marker miRNAs and construction of microRNA-mRNA networks of esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is a common tumor of the digestive system with poor prognosis. This study was to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in esophageal cancer and to identify new prognostic markers. We downloaded the esophageal cancer miRNA expression profile microarray data (GSE113740, GSE112264, GSE122497, GSE113486, and GSE106817) from the GEO database, extracted the esophageal cancer miRNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and then used a bioinformatics approach to select common differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected by predicting DEM target genes using the miRWalk database and intersecting with differential genes obtained from TCGA database for esophageal cancer. The STRING database was used to obtain protein-protein interaction (PPI) relationships to construct the DEM-DEG network. Furthermore, we selected core genes and core miRNAs associated with esophageal cancer prognosis by performing survival and univariate/multivariate COX analysis on DEMs and DEGs in the network and performed GSEA analysis on core genes alone, and finally the expression of the markers was verified by qPCR in esophageal cancer cell lines Eca109, SKGT-4 and normal esophageal epithelial cells HEEC. Nine DEMs were obtained, of which three were upregulated and six were downregulated, and 326 DEGs were obtained, of which 105 were upregulated and 221 were downregulated. Survival univariate/multivariate COX analysis revealed that five genes, ZBTB16, AQP4, ADCYAP1R1, PDGFD, and VIPR2, and two microRNAs, miR-99a-5p, and miR-508-5p, were related to esophageal cancer prognosis. GSEA analysis showed that the following genes may be involved in esophageal cancer prognosis: ZBTB16 may through the MTOR signaling pathway, AQP4 through the GNRH signaling pathway, ADCYAP1R1 through the PPAR signaling pathway, VIPR2 through the P53 signaling pathway and PDGFD through the PENTOSE-PHOSPHATE signaling pathway.