Identification of a novel circ_0018289/miR-183-5p/TMED5 regulatory network in cervical cancer development

A comprehensive review on the functional role of miRNA clusters in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) poses a significant health threat in women globally. MicroRNA clusters (MCs), comprising multiple miRNA-encoding genes, are pivotal in gene regulation. Various factors, including circular RNA and DNA methylation, govern MC expression. Dysregulated MC expression correlates strongly with CC development via promoting the acquisition of cancer hallmarks. Certain MCs show promise for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy selection due to their distinct expression patterns in normal, premalignant and tumor tissues. This review explains the regulation and biological functions of MCs and highlights the clinical relevance of abnormal MC expression in CC.

TMED family genes and their roles in human diseases

The members of the transmembrane emp24 domain-containing protein (TMED) family are summarized in human as four subfamilies, α (TMED 4, 9), β (TMED 2), γ (TMED1, 3, 5, 6, 7) and δ (TMED 10), with a total of nine members, which are important regulators of intracellular protein transport and are involved in normal embryonic development, as well as in the pathogenic processes of many human diseases. Here we systematically review the composition, structure and function of TMED family members, and describe the progress of TMED family in human diseases, including malignancies (head and neck tumors, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, urological tumors, osteosarcomas, etc.), immune responses, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, mucin 1 nephropathy (MKD), and desiccation syndrome (SS). Finally, we discuss and prospect the potential of TMED for disease prognosis prediction and therapeutic targeting, with a view to laying the foundation for therapeutic research based on TMED family causative genes.

lncRNA LINC00960 promotes apoptosis by sponging ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1-targeting miR-183-5p

<p indent="0mm">The ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1/RNF41 promotes the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of multiple important substrates, including BRUCE/BIRC6, a giant ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme inhibiting both apoptosis and autophagy. miR-183-5p is associated with various malignancies potentially by targeting dozens of genes. Here, we show that the lncRNA LINC00960 binds to the Nrdp1-targeting miR-183-5p and promotes apoptosis. Compared to other known miR-183-5p targets, Nrdp1 mRNA is among the few with top scores to complement miR-183-5p. miR-183-5p binds to the <sc>3'UTR</sc> of Nrdp1 mRNA and downregulates Nrdp1 at both the mRNA and protein levels. The miR-183-5p mimics inhibit DNA damage-induced apoptosis probably by upregulating BRUCE level, whereas the miR-183-5p inhibitor suppresses the effects of miR-183-5p. LINC00960 is the noncoding RNA with the highest score to complement miR-183-5p. LINC00960 overexpression reduces, but its knockdown increases, the level of miR-183-5p, whereas LINC00960 overexpression increases, but its knockdown decreases, the level of Nrdp1 and apoptosis. Importantly, the expression of LINC00960, which is associated with multiple types of tumors, positively correlates with that of Nrdp1 in several tumors but inversely correlates with that of miR-183-5p in multiple human tumor cell lines, as analysed by quantitative PCR. Thus, miR-183-5p downregulates Nrdp1 expression and inhibits apoptosis, whereas LINC00960 upregulates Nrdp1 and promotes apoptosis by inhibiting miR-183-5p. These results may provide new ideas for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of apoptosis-related diseases, such as tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. </p>.

Circ_0072995 drives cervical cancer development by regulating the miR-29a/WDR5 axis

Circular RNA_0072995 (Circ_0072995) is involved in the pathogenesis of cancers; however, no study has investigated its role in cervical cancer. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the function of circ_0072995 in cervical cancer. Normal human cervical epithelial cells (hCECs), HeLa cells, and forty female nude BALB/c mice were used. Immunohistochemistry, invasion assays, flow cytometric analysis, luciferase assays, and tumour volume measurements were performed to explore the potential mechanism. Circ_0072995 was significantly up-regulated in cancer tissues, and its level was markedly correlated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics system (FIGO) staging. In vitro studies revealed that circ_0072995 interacts with miR-29a to induce WD repeat domain 5 (WDR5) expression and promotes the proliferation and invasion of cells, but inhibits apoptosis of cells. Knockdown of circ_0072995 or WDR5, or overexpression of miR-29a significantly inhibited tumour growth in vivo. In conclusion, circ_0072995 promoted cervical cancer development by inducing miR-29a-mediated WDR5 expression.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? Global Cancer Statistics 2020 estimated that there were 1 021,494 new cases of cervical cancer and 439 201 deaths from cervical cancer. Circ_0072995 was first shown to promote breast cancer development in 2018. Subsequent studies have revealed that circ_0072995 is also involved in the development of other cancers, including epithelial ovarian cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, no studies have explored the association between circ_0072995 and cervical cancer.What do the results of this study add? We hypothesized that circ_0072995 drives cervical cancer development by sponging miRNAs and inducing the expression of key factors involved in tumorigenesis. Based on this hypothesis, we investigated the role of circ_0072995 in cervical cancer and paracancerous tissues and explored the underlying mechanism in both in vitro and in vivo studies.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? For the first time, our study revealed the key role of WDR5 in cervical cancer progression regulated by circ_0072995. We first reported the promoting effects of circ_0072995 in cervical cancer development by inducing miR-29a mediated WDR5 expression and also revealed the therapeutic potential of circ_0072995, miR-29a, and WDR5 in cervical cancer.

High Expression of TMEM33 Predicts Poor Prognosis and Promotes Cell Proliferation in Cervical Cancer

Background: The prognosis of patients with advanced cervical cancer remains unsatisfactory. A study indicated that transmembrane protein 33 (TMEM33) was implicated in tumor recurrence, while its role in cervical cancer has not been elucidated.

Methods: TMEM33 expression in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) was primarily screened in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and further validated in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The Kaplan–Meier plotter analysis and Cox regression were constructed to evaluate the prognostic value of TMEM33 in CESC. Functional enrichment analysis was performed with GO, KEGG and GSEA tools. CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay were performed to investigate the carcinogenesis role of TMEM33 in cervical cancer cell proliferation.

Results: TMEM33 expression was significantly elevated in CESC compared with normal tissues. High expression of TMEM33 was associated with poor prognostic clinical characteristics in CESC patients. KM-plotter analysis revealed that patients with increased TMEM33 had shorter overall survival (OS), progress free interval (PFI), and disease specific survival (DSS). Moreover, Multivariate Cox analysis confirmed that high TMEM33 expression was an independent risk factor for OS in patients with CESC. TMEM33 was associated with immune infiltrates, and its expression was correlated with tumorigenesis-related genes RNF4, OCIAD1, TMED5, DHX15, MED28 and LETM1. More importantly, knockdown of TMEM33 in cervical cancer cells decreased the expression of those genes and inhibited cell proliferation.

Conclusion: Increased TMEM33 in cervical cancer can serve as an independent prognostic marker and might play a role in tumorigenesis by promoting cell proliferation.

Circular RNAs as emerging players in cervical cancer tumorigenesis; A review to roles and biomarker potentials

Cervical cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer among women worldwide. Most of the patients are diagnosed at the advanced stages due to late diagnosis and lack of accessible and valuable approaches for early detection of the disease. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a distinguishable class of non-coding RNAs with characteristic loop structures. Although their function has not been completely elucidated; however, recent evidence has suggested regulatory functions for circRNAs on gene expression controlling various biological functions like cell growth and apoptosis, development, embryogenesis, and pathogenesis of human diseases particularly cancers. Studies show the role of dysregulated circRNAs in biological processes including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and chemoresistance contributing to affect tumorigenesis in ovarian cancer cells, animal, and clinical studies. These effects can be defined as consistent with several tumorigenesis characteristics, which are defined as "hallmarks of cancer". Additionally, dysregulated circRNAs exhibit prognostic, and diagnostic potentials both in the prediction of prognosis in ovarian cancer patients, and also their discrimination from healthy individuals. Furthermore, targeting circRNAs has shown positive results in the suppression of malignant features of cancer cells, and also in overcoming chemoresistance. In this review, I have gathered the majority of studies evaluating the role of circRNAs in the development, and progression of cervical cancer, and also have discussed prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic potentials of circRNAs for clinical applications in cervical cancer patients.

KIF14 affects cell cycle arrest and cell viability in cervical cancer by regulating the p27Kip1 pathway

Background

Cervical cancer is a kind of malignant gynecological tumor. The first choice for treating cervical cancer is still a combination of surgery and chemoradiotherapy, but the 5-year survival rate remains poor. Therefore, researchers are trying to find new ways to diagnose and treat cervical cancer early.

Methods

The expression level of KIF14 in cells and tissues was determined via qRT–PCR. The ability of the cells to proliferate, migrate, and invade was examined using CCK-8 assay kits, colony formation assays, and Transwell chambers. The expression levels of Cyclin D1, Cyclin B1, p21, and p27 were also detected using western blot assays.

Results

The results suggested that p27 is a key regulatory factor in the KIF14-mediated regulation of the cell cycle. In addition, KIF14 knockdown promotes malignancy in cervical cancer cells by inhibiting p27 degradation, resulting in cell cycle arrest.

Conclusions

KIF14 is an oncogene in cervical cancer, and knocking down KIF14 causes cell cycle arrest by inhibiting p27 degradation, thus affecting cell viability, proliferation, and migration. These results provide a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

Association of three micro-RNA gene polymorphisms with the risk of cervical cancer: a meta-analysis and systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Regulation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in micro-RNA (miRNA) on the host cells may be one of the most important factors influencing the occurrence of cervical cancer based on the prevalence of HPV infection and the development of cervical cancer. In order to explore the contribution of miRNA polymorphism to the occurrence and development of cervical cancer, we conducted an analytical study.

METHODS

We selected the polymorphisms of three widely studied miRNAs (miRNA-146a rs2910164, miRNA-499 rs3746444, and miRNA-196a2 rs11614913). Then, we conducted a meta-analysis (for the first time) to investigate their susceptibility to cervical cancer. Case control studies on the correlation between these three miRNAs and cervical cancer susceptibility were investigated by searching on from Pubmed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang database, and VIP database. Basic characteristics were recorded and meta-analysis of the case studies was performed using the STATA 15.1 software.

RESULTS

The miRNA-146a rs2910164 mutation significantly reduced the risk of cervical cancer in both recessive model (OR = 0.804, 95% CI = 0.652-0.992, P = 0.042; CC vs. CG+GG) and allelic model (OR = 0.845, 95% CI = 0.721-0.991, P = 0.038; C vs. G). There was no significant correlation between miRNA-499 rs3746444 and the risk of cervical cancer. The miRNA-196a2 rs11614913 mutation was significantly associated with a reduced risk of cervical cancer in homozygous model (OR = 0.641, 95% CI = 0.447-0.919, P = 0.016; TT vs. CC), dominant model (OR = 0.795, 95% CI = 0.636-0.994, P = 0.045; CT+TT vs. CC), recessive model (OR = 0.698, 95% CI = 0.532-0.917, P = 0.01; TT vs. CC+CT), and allelic models (OR = 0.783, 95% CI = 0.643-0.954, P = 0.015, T vs. C).

CONCLUSION

In summary, this meta-analysis shows that the mutant genotypes of miRNA-146a rs2910164 and miRNA-196a2 rs11614913 are associated with a reduced risk of cervical cancer. Therefore, they may be two gene regulatory points for the prevention of cervical cancer.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number CRD42021270079.

Determination of a six-gene prognostic model for cervical cancer based on WGCNA combined with LASSO and Cox-PH analysis

AIM

This study aimed to establish a risk model of hub genes to evaluate the prognosis of patients with cervical cancer.

METHODS

Based on TCGA and GTEx databases, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened and then analyzed using GO and KEGG analyses. The weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) was then used to perform modular analysis of DEGs. Univariate Cox regression analysis combined with LASSO and Cox-pH was used to select the prognostic genes. Then, multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to screen the hub genes. The risk model was established based on hub genes and evaluated by risk curve, survival state, Kaplan-Meier curve, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

RESULTS

We screened 1265 DEGs between cervical cancer and normal samples, of which 620 were downregulated and 645 were upregulated. GO and KEGG analyses revealed that most of the upregulated genes were related to the metastasis of cancer cells, while the downregulated genes mostly acted on the cell cycle. Then, WGCNA mined six modules (red, blue, green, brown, yellow, and gray), and the brown module with the most DEGs and related to multiple cancers was selected for the follow-up study. Eight genes were identified by univariate Cox regression analysis combined with the LASSO Cox-pH model. Then, six hub genes (SLC25A5, ENO1, ANLN, RIBC2, PTTG1, and MCM5) were screened by multivariate Cox regression analysis, and SLC25A5, ANLN, RIBC2, and PTTG1 could be used as independent prognostic factors. Finally, we determined that the risk model established by the six hub genes was effective and stable.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supplies the prognostic value of the risk model and the new promising targets for the cervical cancer treatment, and their biological functions need to be further explored.