Cytoplasmic eIF6 promotes OSCC malignant behavior through AKT pathway

The Art of Finding the Right Drug Target: Emerging Methods and Strategies

Drug targets are specific molecules in biological tissues and body fluids that interact with drugs. Drug target discovery is a key component of drug discovery and is essential for the development of new drugs in areas such as cancer therapy and precision medicine. Traditional in vitro or in vivo target discovery methods are time-consuming and labor-intensive, limiting the pace of drug discovery. With the development of modern discovery methods, the discovery and application of various emerging technologies have greatly improved the efficiency of drug discovery, shortened the cycle time, and reduced the cost. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various emerging drug target discovery strategies, including computer-assisted approaches, drug affinity response target stability, multiomics analysis, gene editing, and nonsense-mediated mRNA degradation, and discusses the effectiveness and limitations of the various approaches, as well as their application in real cases. Through the review of the aforementioned contents, a general overview of the development of novel drug targets and disease treatment strategies will be provided, and a theoretical basis will be provided for those who are engaged in pharmaceutical science research. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Target-based drug discovery has been the main approach to drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry for the past three decades. Traditional drug target discovery methods based on in vivo or in vitro validation are time-consuming and costly, greatly limiting the development of new drugs. Therefore, the development and selection of new methods in the drug target discovery process is crucial.

Multi-omic analyses of m5C readers reveal their characteristics and immunotherapeutic proficiency

5-methylcytosine (m5C) is a post-transcriptional RNA modification identified, m5C readers can specifically identify and bind to m5C. ALYREF and YBX1 as members of m5C readers that have garnered increasing attention in cancer research. However, comprehensive analysis of their molecular functions across pancancer are lacking. Using the TCGA and GTEx databases, we investigated the expression levels and prognostic values of ALYREF and YBX1. Additionally, we assessed the tumor microenvironment, immune checkpoint-related genes, immunomodulators, Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) score and drug resistance of ALYREF and YBX1. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) analyses were performed to investigate the potential functions associated with m5C readers and coexpressed genes. Aberrant expression of ALYREF and YBX1 was observed and positively associated with prognosis in KIRP, LGG and LIHC. Furthermore, the expression levels of ALYREF and YBX1 were significantly correlated with immune infiltration of the tumor microenvironment and immune-related modulators. Last, our analysis revealed significant correlations between ALYREF, YBX1 and eIFs. Our study provides a substantial understanding of m5C readers and the intricate relationship between ALYREF, YBX1, eIFs, and mRNA dynamics. Through multidimensional analysis of immune infiltration and drug sensitivity/resistance in ALYREF and YBX1, we propose a possibility for combined modality therapy utilizing m5C readers.

N6-methyladenosine methylation regulatory pattern of pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma based on exosomal transcriptome analysis

Pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (pLELC) is a rare malignancy that lacks specific biomarkers. N6-methyladenosine (m6 A) is the most widespread internal modification of messenger RNA (mRNA), and its dysregulation is involved in the development of many cancers. However, the expression of m6 A genes in pLELC and their roles are unknown. We obtained an exosomal transcriptome data set of patients diagnosed with pLELC and healthy controls using RNA sequencing and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the two groups using R software. The differential expression of the 37 m6 A genes in the two sets of samples was further analyzed, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for each gene to identify their grouping ability. The STRING database was used to construct a protein-protein interaction network for m6 A genes. An mRNA-miRNA regulatory network of m6 A-related DEGs was constructed using the miRNet database, and a prediction score formula was established. A nomogram was constructed based on the candidate m6 A genes and prediction scores. The expression of key genes was determined through the immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of clinical tissue sections. Using ROC curves, nine m6 A genes were revealed to have classification efficacy in both groups of samples. We screened seven m6 A-related DEGs (MAN2C1, HNRNPCL1, FUS, EIF6, DIP2A, COA3, and BUD13) that were beneficial for grouping and constructed nomogram models. Through IHC, we identified FUS and EIF6 as being possibly involved in the occurrence and development of pLELC. The m6 A gene expression patterns in pLELC-derived exosomes were significantly different from those in healthy controls. We screened several key genes to facilitate the development of diagnostic markers for pulmonary lymphoepithelioma.

Analysis of mRNA-miRNA interaction network reveals the role of CAFs-derived exosomes in the immune regulation of oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have significant tumor regulatory functions, and CAFs-derived exosomes (CAFs-Exo) released from CAFs play an important role in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, a lack of comprehensive molecular biological analysis leaves the regulatory mechanisms of CAFs-Exo in OSCC unclear.

METHODS

We used platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) to induce the transformation of human oral mucosa fibroblast (hOMF) into CAFs, and extracted exosomes from the supernatant of CAFs and hOMF. We validated the effect of CAFs-Exo on tumor progression by exosomes co-culture with Cal-27 and tumor-forming in nude mice. The cellular and exosomal transcriptomes were sequenced, and immune regulatory genes were screened and validated using mRNA-miRNA interaction network analysis in combination with publicly available databases.

RESULTS

The results showed that CAFs-Exo had a stronger ability to promote OSCC proliferation and was associated with immunosuppression. We discovered that the presence of immune-related genes in CAFs-Exo may regulate the expression of PIGR, CD81, UACA, and PTTG1IP in Cal-27 by analyzing CAFs-Exo sequencing data and publicly available TCGA data. This may account for the ability of CAFs-Exo to exert immunomodulation and promote OSCC proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS

CAFs-Exo was found to be involved in tumor immune regulation through hsa-miR-139-5p, ACTR2 and EIF6, while PIGR, CD81, UACA and PTTG1IP may be potentially effective targets for the treatment of OSCC in the future.

Inflammation and Invasion in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells Exposed to Electronic Cigarette Vapor Extract

Electronic cigarettes (eCig) represent a new avenue of tobacco exposure that involves heating oil-based liquids and the delivery of aerosolized flavors with or without nicotine, yet little is known about their overall health impact. The oral cavity is an anatomic gateway for exposure that can be compromised by activating myriad of signaling networks. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSSC) is a common malignancy affecting 30,000 people in the United States each year. Our objective was to determine the impact of eCig and nicotine on gingival OSSC invasion and their secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules. Gingiva-derived Ca9-22 cells and tongue-derived Cal27 cells were exposed to eCig vapor extract (EVE) generated from Red Hot or Green Apple (Apple) flavored eCig solution +/- nicotine for 6 hours. Isolation of protein lysates and collection conditioned media was done after treatment. Real-time cellular invasion was assessed using a RTCA DP instrument. Protein expression was determined using western blot. Compared to controls, we observed: elevated NF-kB, TNF-α, ERK, JNK, MMP-13 and cell invasion by Ca9-22 treated with Apple EVE; increased TNF-α and JNK by Ca9-22 treated with Red Hot EVE; and increased TNF-α and JNK by Cal27 cells treated with both Apple and Red Hot EVE. We conclude that eCig flavoring and nicotine orchestrated differential cell invasion and inflammatory effects. This study provides an important initial step in dissecting mechanisms of cancerous invasion and molecular avenues employed by OSCC.

Diagnostic and prognostic utility of eIF6 in glioblastoma: a study based on TCGA and CGGA databases

BACKGROUND

Among various glioma types, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of those with the highest malignancy. Although overexpression of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 6 (eIF6), a factor that regulates protein translation initiation, is believed to promote tumor development, its function and potential molecular mechanisms in glioma progression remain uncharacterized. Consequently, we evaluated its diagnostic and prognostic utility in GBM patients.

METHODS

Sample data from two databases, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), were utilized to investigate the role of eIF6 as well as its mechanism of action in gliomas. We analyzed eIF6 expression in normal tissues as well as cancerous samples of different stages of glioma. The diagnostic and prognostic value of eIF6 were analyzed using the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier analysis, respectively. Furthermore, its underlying molecular mechanism in GBM was further revealed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).

RESULTS

Transcriptome data analyses of the two databases showed that eIF6 was upregulated in glioma tissues compared with normal counterparts. eIF6 was at high levels in WHO grade IV gliomas versus grade II and III gliomas (P<0.05). In addition, eIF6 was highly expressed in elderly and Asian glioma patients. Furthermore, eIF6 expression was found to be lower in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutated tumors. Patients with high eIF6 level presented shorter overall survival than cases with low eIF6 level (P<0.05), and eIF6 had favorable accuracy in predicting the prognosis of glioma patients. GSEA revealed that high eIF6 expression was mainly concentrated in cell cycle and DNA repair related pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

eIF6 is highly expressed in gliomas and positively associated with the degree of malignancy. Patients with high eIF6 expression present poor survival. Therefore, eIF6 has the potential to be a diagnostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for glioma development and GBM.