Serum Exosomal lncRNA DLX6-AS1 Is a Promising Biomarker for Prognosis Prediction of Cervical Cancer

Diagnostic Accuracy of Exosomal Long Noncoding RNAs in Diagnosis of NSCLC: A Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE

Globally, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the primary cause of cancer-related mortality, both early and accurate diagnosis are essential for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes. Exosomal noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as promising biomarkers for NSCLC diagnosis. This meta-analysis aims to assess the diagnostic accuracy of exosomal long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) for diagnosing NSCLC.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify relevant studies that assessed the diagnostic performance of exosomal lncRNAs in NSCLC. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other relevant diagnostic parameters were calculated using a bivariate random-effects model. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies, comprising 1843 NSCLC cases and 1298 controls, were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of nine exosomal lncRNAs for diagnosing NSCLC were 0.74 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-0.79] and 0.78 (95% CI 0.68-0.85). The pooled area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for fifteen lncRNAs was 0.80 (95% CI 0.768-0.831). Meta-regression could not find any source for interstudy heterogeneity.

CONCLUSION

Exosomal lncRNAs, particularly AL139294.1, GAS5, LUCAT1, and SOX2-OT, have excellent diagnostic accuracy and promising diagnostic potential in NSCLC. Therefore, they can be used as diagnostic tools for early detection of NSCLC.

LncRNAs: the art of being influential without protein

The plant long noncoding (lnc)RNA field is on the brink of transitioning from large-scale identification of lncRNAs to their functional characterization. Due to the cross-kingdom conservation of interaction types and molecular functions, there is much to be learned from mammalian lncRNA research. Here, we discuss the different molecular processes involving lncRNAs from the regulation of chromatin to splicing. Furthermore, we discuss the lncRNA interactome, which includes proteins, other RNAs, and DNA. We explore and discuss how mammalian lncRNA functionalities could be reflected in similar pathways in plants and hypothesize that several breakthroughs in mammalian research could lead to the discovery of novel plant lncRNA molecular functions. Expanding our knowledge of the biological role of lncRNAs and their multiple applications paves the way for future agricultural applications.

Exosomal noncoding RNAs in gynecological cancers: implications for therapy resistance and biomarkers

Gynecologic cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC), cervical cancer (CC), and endometrial cancer (EC), pose a serious threat to women's health and quality of life due to their high incidence and lethality. Therapeutic resistance in tumors refers to reduced sensitivity of tumor cells to therapeutic drugs or radiation, which compromises the efficacy of treatment or renders it ineffective. Therapeutic resistance significantly contributes to treatment failure in gynecologic tumors, although the specific molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Exosomes are nanoscale vesicles released and received by distinct kinds of cells. Exosomes contain proteins, lipids, and RNAs closely linked to their origins and functions. Recent studies have demonstrated that exosomal ncRNAs may be involved in intercellular communication and can modulate the progression of tumorigenesis, aggravation and metastasis, tumor microenvironment (TME), and drug resistance. Besides, exosomal ncRNAs also have the potential to become significant diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in various of diseases. In this paper, we reviewed the biological roles and mechanisms of exosomal ncRNAs in the drug resistance of gynecologic tumors, as well as explored the potential of exosomal ncRNAs acting as the liquid biopsy molecular markers in gynecologic cancers.

The value of urinary exosomal lncRNA SNHG16 as a diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer

OBJECTIVE

To detect the expression level of urinary exosomal lncRNA SNHG16 in patients with bladder cancer and healthy individuals and explore its clinical application value in the diagnosis of bladder cancer.

METHODS

Urine samples were collected from 42 patients with bladder cancer and 42 healthy volunteers who visited Lu'an Hospital of Anhui Medical University and the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from January 2020 to December 2022. The expression levels of lncRNA SNHG16 in urinary exosomes of the two groups were detected by RT‒qPCR, and their correlation with clinical pathological parameters of bladder cancer patients was analysed. An Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC) curve was drawn to analyse the diagnostic value of urinary exosomal lncRNA SNHG16 for bladder cancer and compared with urinary cytology.

RESULTS

The expression of urinary exosomal lncRNA SNHG16 in patients with bladder cancer was significantly higher (P < 0.05), and the expression level had no correlation with the age, sex, pathological T stage, pathological grade, or tumour size of bladder cancer patients (P > 0.05). The Area Under Curve(AUC) of urinary exosomal lncRNA SNHG16 in diagnosing bladder cancer was 0.791, which was superior to that of urinary cytology (AUC = 0.597).

CONCLUSION

Urinary exosomal lncRNA SNHG16 with high expression can serve as a potential diagnostic biological marker for bladder cancer.

Roles of exosome-derived non-coding RNA in tumor micro-environment and its clinical application

Tumor-derived exosomes play an important role in the tumor micro-environment. The exosome-derived non-coding RNAs are transmitted in the tumor microenvironment in three ways, communication between tumor cells, normal cells affecting tumor cells, and tumor cells affecting normal cells. Through these three ways, exosomal non-coding RNAs are involved in the regulation of tumor progression, affecting tumor angiogenesis, tumor invasiveness, drug resistance, stemness, tumor metabolic repro-gramming and immune escape, resulting in dual roles in promoting or inhibiting tumor development. Exosomes have a membranous structure and their contents are resistant to degradation by extracellular proteases and remain highly stable in body fluids, thus exosome-derived non-coding RNAs are expected to serve as diagnostic and prognostic indicators for a variety of cancers. In addition, exosomes can be used to deliver non-coding RNAs for targeted therapy, or to knock down or modify tumor-promoting non-coding RNAs for tumor therapy. This article reviews the function and communication mechanism of exosomal non-coding RNAs in the tumor microenvironment, including their pathways of action, effects, potential values for tumor biomarkers and treatment targets. This article also points out the issues that need to be further studied in order to promote the progress of extracellular non-coding RNAs in cancer research and their application in tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Peripheral surrogates of tumor burden to guide chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic strategies for HPV-associated malignancies

With the rapid adoption of immunotherapy into clinical practice for HPV-associated malignancies, assessing tumor burden using "liquid biopsies" would further our understanding of clinical outcomes mediated by immunotherapy and allow for tailoring of treatment based on real-time tumor dynamics. In this review, we examine translational studies on peripheral surrogates of tumor burden derived from peripheral blood in HPV-associated malignancies, including levels and methylation of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), miRNA derived from extracellular vesicles, circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and HPV-specific antibodies and T cell responses. We review their utility as prognostic and predictive biomarkers of response to chemotherapy and radiation, with a focus on how they may inform and guide immunotherapies to treat locally advanced and metastatic HPV-associated malignancies. We also highlight unanswered questions that must be addressed to translate and integrate these peripheral tumor biomarkers into the clinic.

Value of non-coding RNAs to assess lymph node status in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth cancer in women and is the leading cause of cancer death in 42 countries. Lymph node metastasis is a determinant prognostic factor, as underlined in the latest FIGO classification. However, assessment of lymph node status remains difficult, despite the progress of imaging such as PET-CT and MRI. In the specific setting of CC, all data underlined the need for new biomarkers easily available to assess lymph node status. Previous studies have underlined the potential value of ncRNA expression in gynecological cancers. In this review, we aimed to evaluate the contribution of ncRNAs in tissue and biofluid samples to determine lymph node status in CC with potential impact on both surgical and adjuvant therapies. In tissue samples, our analysis found that there are arguments to support the role of ncRNAs in physiopathology, differential diagnosis from normal tissue, preinvasive and invasive tumors. In biofluids, despite small studies especially concerning miRNAs expression, promising data opens up new avenue to establish a non-invasive signature for lymph node status as well as a tool to predict response to neo- and adjuvant therapies, thus improving management algorithm of patients with CC.

Long non-coding RNAs as critical regulators and novel targets in cervical cancer: current status and future perspectives

Cervical cancer is among the leading causes of cancer-associated mortality in women. In spite of vaccine availability, improved screening procedures, and chemoradiation therapy, cervical cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in 23 countries and the leading cause of cancer deaths in 36 countries. There is, therefore, a need to come up with novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a remarkable role in genome regulation and contribute significantly to several developmental and disease pathways. The deregulation of lncRNAs is often observed in cancer patients, where they are shown to affect multiple cellular processes, including cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and invasion. Many lncRNAs are found to be involved in the pathogenesis as well as progression of cervical cancer and have shown potency to track metastatic events. This review provides an overview of lncRNA mediated regulation of cervical carcinogenesis and highlights their potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers as well as therapeutic targets for cervical cancer. In addition, it also discusses the challenges associated with the clinical implication of lncRNAs in cervical cancer.

LncRNA CRNDE is involved in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis by regulating renal epithelial cell mesenchymal-epithelial transition via targeting miR-29a-3p

Results of previous studies suggested that renal fibrosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in the process of renal fibrosis, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Long coding RNA (lncRNA) CRNDE has emerged as potent regulators of EMT programs, therefore, in present work, we examined the roles of LncRNA CRNDE/miR-29a-3p axis in renal fibrosis and the underlying mechanism. We found that in both renal fibrosis animal and cell models, lncRNA CRNDE was dynamically upregulated in animal models or cells by the treatment of TGF-β. Furthermore, knockdown of CRNDE to rat significantly inhibited EMT, prevented renal fibrosis. Finally, CRNDE regulates renal fibrosis through suppression of miR-29a-3p expression. Together, our results demonstrated that CRNDE acted as a regulator of renal fibrosis via targeting miR-29a-3p. Our findings may provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

Clinical Application of Small Extracellular Vesicles in Gynecologic Malignancy Treatments

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are the key mediators of intercellular communication. They have the potential for clinical use as diagnostic or therapeutic biomarkers and have been explored as vectors for drug delivery. Identification of reliable and noninvasive biomarkers, such as sEVs, is important for early diagnosis and precise treatment of gynecologic diseases to improve patient prognosis. Previous reviews have summarized routine sEVs isolation and identification methods; however, novel and unconventional methods have not been comprehensively described. This review summarizes a convenient method of isolating sEVs from body fluids and liquid biopsy-related sEV markers for early, minimally invasive diagnosis of gynecologic diseases. In addition, the characteristics of sEVs as drug carriers and in precision treatment and drug resistance are introduced, providing a strong foundation for identifying novel and potential therapeutic targets for sEV therapy. We propose potential directions for further research on the applications of sEVs in the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic diseases.

Effects of Exosomes on Tumor Bioregulation and Diagnosis

Exosomes are lipid bilayer vesicles in biological fluids, which can participate in biological processes by mediating intercellular communication and activating intracellular signaling pathways, especially cancerogenic processes, such as proliferation, metastasis, invasion, and immune regulation of cancer cells. Besides, cancer-derived exosomes are also involved in tumor diagnosis and therapy as biomarkers and nanotransport devices. This article reviews the latest research progress on the biological regulation and disease diagnosis of exosomes in tumors, with the aim of providing new ideas for the clinical treatment of cancers.

The Role and Applications of Exosomes in Gynecological Cancer: A Review

Exosomes are phospholipid bilayer vesicles that are released by all types of cells, containing proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids such as DNAs and RNAs. Exosomes can be transferred between cells and play a variety of physiological and pathological regulatory functions. Noncoding RNAs, including micro RNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and circular RNAs, are the most studied biomolecules from exosomes and more and more studies found that noncoding RNAs play an important role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases, including various types of cancer. Gynecological malignancies such as ovarian, endometrial, and cervical cancer seriously threaten women's life. Therefore, this article reviews the roles and applications of exosomes in gynecological malignancies, including the promotion or inhibition of tumor progression and regulation of tumor microenvironments, and as potential therapeutic targets for treating gynecological cancers.

Role of Exosomal Non-Coding RNA in the Tumour Microenvironment of Genitourinary System Tumours

In recent years, genitourinary system tumors are common in people of all ages, seriously affecting the quality of life of patients, the pathogenesis and treatment of these diseases are constantly being updated and improved. Exosomes, with a lipid bilayer that enable delivery of their contents into body fluids or other cells. Exosomes can regulate the tumor microenvironment, and play an important role in tumor development. In turn, cellular and non-cellular components of tumor microenvironment also affect the occurrence, progression, invasion and metastasis of tumor. Non-coding RNAs have been shown to be able to be ingested and released by exosomes, and are seen as a potential tool in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Here, we summarize the effect of non-coding RNAs of exosome contents on the tumor microenvironment of genitourinary system tumor, expound the significance of non-coding RNAs of exosome in the occurrence, development, diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

Application of Extracellular Vesicles in Gynecologic Cancer Treatment

Ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancer are the three most common gynecological malignancies that seriously threaten women's health. With the development of molecular biology technology, immunotherapy and targeted therapy for gynecologic tumors are being carried out in clinical treatment. Extracellular vesicles are nanosized; they exist in various body fluids and play an essential role in intercellular communication and in the regulation of various biological process. Several studies have shown that extracellular vesicles are important targets in gynecologic cancer treatment as they promote tumor growth, progression, angiogenesis, metastasis, chemoresistance, and immune system escape. This article reviews the progress of research into extracellular vesicles in common gynecologic tumors and discusses the role of extracellular vesicles in gynecologic tumor treatment.

Advances in Exosomes as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Biomarkers for Gynaecological Malignancies

Simple Summary

The three major gynaecological cancers are ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and cervical cancer, which endanger women’s health worldwide. Significant progress has been made in the study of exosomes, which have been proven to be an important form of intercellular communication, as well as an important carrier for the uptake, transport, and release of cargo. Exosomes may also be promising diagnostic or prognostic markers for gynaecologic malignancies, which may improve the level of treatment of gynaecologic malignancies. This article reviews the latest research progress and systematic knowledge of exosomes in gynaecological malignant tumours in recent years, in order to provide a new perspective for the treatment of gynaecological tumours and promote the clinical application of exosomes in gynaecological malignancies.

Abstract

Background: Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that can be released by practically all types of cells. They have a diameter of 30–150 nm. Exosomes control the exchange of materials and information between cells. This function is based on its special cargo-carrying and transporting functions, which can load a variety of useful components and guarantee their preservation. Recently, exosomes have been confirmed to play a significant role in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of gynaecological malignancies. Particularly, participation in liquid biopsy was studied extensively in gynaecological cancer, which holds the advantages of noninvasiveness and individualization. Literature Review: This article reviews the latest research progress of exosomes in gynaecological malignancies and discusses the involvement of humoral and cell-derived exosomes in the pathogenesis, progression, metastasis, drug resistance and treatment of ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial cancer. Advances in the clinical application of exosomes in diagnostic technology, drug delivery, and overcoming tumour resistance are also presented. Conclusion: Exosomes are potentially diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in gynaecological malignancies, and also provide new directions for the treatment of gynaecological tumours, showing great clinical potential.

Strategies of LncRNA DLX6-AS1 on Study and Therapeutics

Accumulating evidence has revealed the vital regulatory roles of lncRNA DLX6-AS1 in various tumors at pre-transcriptional, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional levels, which makes it a potential prognosis factor and therapeutic target. In addition, the presence of lncRNA DLX6-AS1 in the exosomes of peripheral blood of patients with tumors may also contribute to it being a possible cancer-related biomarker. However, most literature studies are devoted to studying the effect of lncRNA DLX6-AS1 as a sponging molecule of miRNAs, the research of which is likely to get stuck into a dilemma. Literature studies published already have demonstrated an exciting cell malignant phenotype inhibition with the knockdown of lncRNA DLX6-AS1 in various tumor cell lines. With the comprehensive development of delivery systems, high-throughput sequencing, and aptamers, the problems of finding novel research methods and exploring the therapeutic options which are based on lncRNA DLX6-AS1 in vivo could come into a period to deal with. This review aims to summarize the research statuses of lncRNA DLX6-AS1, discuss other study methodologies and therapeutic strategies on it, which might be of help to the deep learning of lncRNA DLX6-AS1 and its application from basic to clinical research.

Advances in exosome biomarkers for cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) ranks as the fourth most frequently diagnosed malignancy in females worldwide. Exosomes are a subclass of extracellular vesicles released by nearly all types of cells that act as cargo transport vehicles, carrying proteins, and genetic material (such as miRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and mRNAs) derived from their parent cells may affect receiving cells and thus have emerged as key players in several biological processes, including inflammatory pathways. In this review, we concentrated on the findings of exosome investigations in CC, particularly their components. They direct the actions of CC cells by inducing surface molecules associated with various biological pathways. We summarized the current knowledge of exosomal RNAs and proteins from CC cells and discussed the feasibility of exosomes as potential biomarkers for CC. We suggest that cancer-derived exosomes promote metastasis in CC by supporting EMT, controlling the proliferation, invasion, or migration of cancer cells, as well as influencing immune escape and aiding angiogenesis. Overall, cancer-derived exosomes are critical in the progression of CC, and further studies are necessary to advance our understanding of the clinical value of exosomes in CC.

Exosomal LncRNAs and hepatocellular Carcinoma: From basic research to clinical practice

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer with poor prognosis. The incidences of HCC and HCC-related deaths have increased over the last several decades. However, the treatment options for advanced HCC are very limited. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) wrapped in exosomes can change the expression of their target genes in recipient cells, thereby regulating the behavior of recipient cells. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that there is a correlation between the activation of exosomal lncRNAs and the development of HCC. In this review article, we highlighted the functions of exosomal lncRNAs in the development of HCC, showing that exosomal lncRNAs play a vital role in the growth and progression of HCC and are targets for HCC.

DLX6-AS1: A Long Non-coding RNA With Oncogenic Features

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a heterogeneous group of ncRNAs with characteristic size of more than 200 nucleotides. An increasing number of lncRNAs have been found to be dysregulated in many human diseases particularly cancer. However, their role in carcinogenesis is not precisely understood. DLX6-AS1 is an lncRNAs which has been unveiled to be up-regulated in various number of cancers. In different cell studies, DLX6-AS1 has shown oncogenic role via promoting oncogenic phenotype of cancer cell lines. Increase in tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT while suppressing apoptosis in cancer cells are the effects of DLX6-AS1 in development and progression of cancer. In the majority of cell experiment, mediator miRNAs have been identified which are sponged and negatively regulated by DLX6-AS1, and they in turn regulate expression of a number of transcription factors, eventually affecting signaling pathways involved in carcinogenesis. These pathways form axes through which DLX6-AS1 promotes carcinogenicity of cancer cells. Xenograft animal studies, also have confirmed enhancing effect of DLX6-AS1 on tumor growth and metastasis. Clinical evaluations in cancerous patients have also shown increased expression of DLX6-AS1 in tumor tissues compared to healthy tissues. High DLX6-AS1 expression has shown positive association with advanced clinicopathological features in cancerous patients. Survival analyses have demonstrated correlation between high DLX6-AS1 expression and shorter survival. In cox regression analysis, DLX6-AS1 has been found as an independent prognostic factor for patients with various types of cancer.

DLX6-AS1: a putative lncRNA candidate in multiple human cancers

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have important roles in regulating the expression of genes and act as biomarkers in the initial development of different cancers. Increasing research studies have verified that dysregulation of lncRNAs occurs in various pathological processes including tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Among the different lncRNAs, DLX6-AS1 has been reported to act as an oncogene in the development and prognoses of different cancers, by affecting many different signalling pathways. This review summarises and analyses the recent research studies describing the biological functions of DLX6-AS1, its overall effect on signalling pathways and the molecular mechanisms underlying its action on the expression of genes in multiple human cancers. Our critical analysis suggests that different signalling pathways associated to this lncRNA may be used as a biomarker for diagnosis, or targets of treatment in cancers.

Extracellular Vesicles Long Non-Coding RNA AGAP2-AS1 Contributes to Cervical Cancer Cell Proliferation Through Regulating the miR-3064-5p/SIRT1 Axis

Cervical cancer is one of the most severe and prevalent female malignancies and a global health issue. The molecular mechanisms underlying cervical cancer development are poorly investigated. As a type of extracellular membrane vesicles, EVs from cancer cells are involved in cancer progression by delivering regulatory factors, such as proteins, microRNAs (miRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). In this study, we identified an innovative function of extracellular vesicle (EV) lncRNA AGAP2-AS1 in regulating cervical cancer cell proliferation. The EVs were isolated from the cervical cancer cells and were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and were confirmed by analyzing exosome markers. The depletion of AGAP2-AS1 by siRNA significantly reduced its expression in the exosomes from cervical cancer and in the cervical cancer treated with AGAP2-AS1-knockdown exosomes. The expression of AGAP2-AS1 was elevated in the clinical cervical cancer tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues. The depletion of EV AGAP2-AS1 reduced cell viabilities and Edu-positive cervical cancer cells, while it enhanced cervical cancer cell apoptosis. Tumorigenicity analysis in nude mice showed that the silencing of EV AGAP2-AS1 attenuated cervical cancer cell growth in vivo. Regarding the mechanism, we identified that AGAP2-AS1 increased SIRT1 expression by sponging miR-3064-5p in cervical cancer cells. The overexpression of SIRT1 or the inhibition of miR-3064-5p reversed EV AGAP2-AS1 depletion-inhibited cancer cell proliferation in vitro. Consequently, we concluded that EV lncRNA AGAP2-AS1 contributed to cervical cancer cell proliferation through regulating the miR-3064-5p/SIRT1 axis. The clinical values of EV lncRNA AGAP2-AS1 and miR-3064-5p deserve to be explored in cervical cancer diagnosis and treatments.

Bioinformatic identification of genomic instability-associated lncRNAs signatures for improving the clinical outcome of cervical cancer by a prognostic model

The research is executed to analyze the connection between genomic instability-associated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the prognosis of cervical cancer patients. We set a prognostic model up and explored different risk groups' features. The clinical datasets and gene expression profiles of 307 patients have been downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We established a prognostic model that combined somatic mutation profiles and lncRNA expression profiles in a tumor genome and identified 35 genomic instability-associated lncRNAs in cervical cancer as a case study. We then stratified patients into low-risk and high-risk groups and were further checked in multiple independent patient cohorts. Patients were separated into two sets: the testing set and the training set. The prognostic model was built using three genomic instability-associated lncRNAs (AC107464.2, MIR100HG, and AP001527.2). Patients in the training set were divided into the high-risk group with shorter overall survival and the low-risk group with longer overall survival (p < 0.001); in the meantime, similar comparable results were found in the testing set (p = 0.046), whole set (p < 0.001). There are also significant differences in patients with histological grades, FIGO stages, and different ages (p < 0.05). The prognostic model focused on genomic instability-associated lncRNAs could predict the prognosis of cervical cancer patients, paving the way for further research into the function and resource of lncRNAs, as well as a key approach to customizing individual care decision-making.

Research progress of DLX6-AS1 in human cancers

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a kind of translational-repressor RNAs composed of more than 200 nucleotides and formerly considered as "transcriptional noise". Recently studies have shown that lncRNAs could bind to multiple biomolecules such as DNA, transcription factors, RNA, chromatin complexes and proteins, and regulate target gene expression at multi-levels, thus playing an essential role in human tumors. DLX6-AS1, a recently discovered oncogenic lncRNA, is highly expressed in various human tumors, including lung cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. This paper mainly reviewed the regulatory mechanism of DLX6-AS1 as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) in tumor cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transformation, chemotherapy resistance and metabolic changes. Furthermore, the translational value of DLX6-AS1 in cancer was also elucidated, which suggested its potential as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker in cancer. In summary, this present article not only makes an in-depth analysis of the expression changes and carcinogenic mechanism of DLX6-AS1 in various human cancers, but also provides a new breakthrough for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

Liquid Biopsy in Cervical Cancer: Hopes and Pitfalls

Simple Summary

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and its incidence is variably distributed between developed and less-resourced countries, in which socio-economic issues and religious beliefs often limit the widespread diffusion and the access to screening campaigns. In the “liquid biopsy” era, the application of non-invasive and repeatable techniques to the identification of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers might facilitate the management of this disease and, hopefully, improve its outcome. The purpose of this review is to explore the progress status of liquid biopsy in cervical cancer patients. Several methods are described, which include the analysis of circulating tumor cells, the search for pathogenic mutations on circulating tumor DNA, as well as the identification of circulating RNAs, focusing on their potential clinical applications and current limitations.

Abstract

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with about 90% of cancer-related deaths occurring in developing countries. The geographical influence on disease evolution reflects differences in the prevalence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, which is the main cause of CC, as well as in the access and quality of services for CC prevention and diagnosis. At present, the most diffused screening and diagnostic tools for CC are Papanicolaou test and the more sensitive HPV-DNA test, even if both methods require gynecological practices whose acceptance relies on the woman’s cultural and religious background. An alternative (or complimentary) tool for CC screening, diagnosis, and follow-up might be represented by liquid biopsy. Here, we summarize the main methodologies developed in this context, including circulating tumor cell detection and isolation, cell tumor DNA sequencing, coding and non-coding RNA detection, and exosomal miRNA identification. Moreover, the pros and cons of each method are discussed, and their potential applications in diagnosis and prognosis of CC, as well as their role in treatment monitoring, are explored. In conclusion, it is evident that despite many advances obtained in this field, further effort is needed to validate and standardize the proposed methodologies before any clinical use.

Extracellular Vesicles in Cervical Cancer and HPV Infection

Since their description, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have shown growing relevance in cancer progression. These cell structures contain and transfer molecules such as nucleic acids (including DNA and RNA), proteins, and lipids. Despite the rising information about EVs’ relationship with cancer, there is still scarce evidence about their content and function in cervical cancer. Interestingly, the composition and purposes of some cellular molecules and the expression of oncogenic proteins packaged in EVs seem modified in HPV-infected cells; and, although only the E6 oncogenic protein has been detected in exosomes from HPV-positive cells, both E6/E7 oncogenes mRNA has been identified in EVs; however, their role still needs to be clarified. Given that EVs internalizing into adjacent or distant cells could modify their cellular behavior or promote cancer-associated events like apoptosis, proliferation, migration, or angiogenesis in receptor cells, their comprehensive study will reveal EV-associated mechanisms in cervical cancer. This review summarizes the current knowledge in composition and functions of cervical cancer and HPV Infection-derived EVs.