The effect of downregulation of Stathmin gene on biological behaviors of U373 and U87-MG glioblastoma cells

STNM1 in human cancers: role, function and potential therapy sensitizer

STMN1 belongs to the stathmin gene family, it encodes a cytoplasmic phosphorylated protein, stathmin1, which is commonly observed in vertebrate cells. STMN1 is a structural microtubule-associated protein (MAP) that binds to microtubule protein dimers rather than microtubules, with each STMN1 binding two microtubule protein dimers and preventing their aggregation, leading to microtubule instability. STMN1 expression is elevated in a number of malignancies, and inhibition of its expression can interfere with tumor cell division. Its expression can change the division of tumor cells, thereby arresting cell growth in the G2/M phase. Moreover, STMN1 expression affects tumor cell sensitivity to anti-microtubule drug analogs, including vincristine and paclitaxel. The research on MAPs is limited, and new insights on the mechanism of STMN1 in different cancers are emerging. The effective application of STMN1 in cancer prognosis and treatment requires further understanding of this protein. Here, we summarize the general characteristics of STMN1 and outline how STMN1 plays a role in cancer development, targeting multiple signaling networks and acting as a downstream target for multiple microRNAs, circRNAs, and lincRNAs. We also summarize recent findings on the function role of STMN1 in tumor resistance and as a therapeutic target for cancer.

Exploring the underlying mechanism of oleanolic acid treating glioma by transcriptome and molecular docking

OBJECTIVE

Oleanolic acid is a promising drug for treating gliomas, but its underlying mechanism is unclear. This study aimed to determine the potential effect of oleanolic acid on glioma and its mechanism.

METHODS

Firstly, the effects of oleanolic acid on the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of glioma U251 cells were detected by in vitro experiments such as MTT assay, cell cloning, and flow cytometry. The transcriptome data of U251 cells treated with oleanolic acid and untreated were sequenced by mRNA, and then the differentially expressed genes were analyzed by gene ontology (GO), genomic encyclopedia (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, and protein interaction topology analysis. The underlying mechanism of oleanolic acid was predicted, and the related protein interaction network was constructed. Finally, Western blotting and molecular docking techniques verified the mRNA sequencing results.

RESULTS

Oleanolic acid could effectively inhibit the proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of U251 cells and induce apoptosis. A total of 446 differentially expressed genes were detected by mRNA sequencing, of which 96 genes were up-regulated and 350 down-regulated. Oleanolic acid induces the TNF signal pathway and NOD-like receptor signal pathway at the intracellular level. In addition, OAS2, OASL, IFIT3, RSAD2, and IRF1 may be the core targets of oleanolic acid in treating glioma.

CONCLUSION

Transcriptome combined with molecular docking technique is used to predict the possible mechanism of oleanolic acid in the treatment of glioma, which provides new ideas and insights for developing and researching antitumor drugs.

Association of STMN1 with survival in solid tumors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The prognostic value of Stathmin 1 (STMN1) in malignant solid tumors remains controversial. Thus, we conducted this meta-analysis to summarize the potential value of STMN1 as a biomarker for predicting overall survival in patients with solid tumor.

METHODS

We systematically searched eligible studies in PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE from the establishment date of these databases to September 2018. Hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the association between STMN1 expression and overall survival.

RESULTS

A total of 25 studies with 4625 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Our combined results showed that high STMN1 expression was associated with poor overall survival in solid tumors (HR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.55, 2.21). In general, our subgroup and sensitivity analyses demonstrated that our combined results were stable and reliable. However, from the results of the subgroups we found that high STMN1 expression was not related to overall survival in colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer anymore, suggesting that much caution should be taken to interpret our combined result, and more studies with large sample sizes are required to further explore the prognostic value of STMN1 expression in the specific type of tumors, especially colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

STMN1 could serve as a prognostic biomarker and could be developed as a valuable therapeutic target for patients with solid tumors. However, due to the limitations of the present meta-analysis, this conclusion should be taken with caution. Further studies adequately designed are required to confirm our findings.

Lentiviral Vectors as Tools for the Study and Treatment of Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) has the worst prognosis among brain tumors, hence basic biology, preclinical, and clinical studies are necessary to design effective strategies to defeat this disease. Gene transfer vectors derived from the most-studied lentivirus-the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1-have wide application in dissecting GBM specific features to identify potential therapeutic targets. Last-generation lentiviruses (LV), highly improved in safety profile and gene transfer capacity, are also largely employed as delivery systems of therapeutic molecules to be employed in gene therapy (GT) approaches. LV were initially used in GT protocols aimed at the expression of suicide factors to induce GBM cell death. Subsequently, LV were adopted to either express small noncoding RNAs to affect different aspects of GBM biology or to overcome the resistance to both chemo- and radiotherapy that easily develop in this tumor after initial therapy. Newer frontiers include adoption of LV for engineering T cells to express chimeric antigen receptors recognizing specific GBM antigens, or for transducing specific cell types that, due to their biological properties, can function as carriers of therapeutic molecules to the cancer mass. Finally, LV allow the setting up of improved animal models crucial for the validation of GBM specific therapies.