LncRNA-SVUGP2 suppresses progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

Function of the Long Noncoding RNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Classification, Molecular Mechanisms, and Significant Therapeutic Potentials

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common and serious type of primary liver cancer. HCC patients have a high death rate and poor prognosis due to the lack of clear signs and inadequate treatment interventions. However, the molecular pathways that underpin HCC pathogenesis remain unclear. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a new type of RNAs, have been found to play important roles in HCC. LncRNAs have the ability to influence gene expression and protein activity. Dysregulation of lncRNAs has been linked to a growing number of liver disorders, including HCC. As a result, improved understanding of lncRNAs could lead to new insights into HCC etiology, as well as new approaches for the early detection and treatment of HCC. The latest results with respect to the role of lncRNAs in controlling multiple pathways of HCC were summarized in this study. The processes by which lncRNAs influence HCC advancement by interacting with chromatin, RNAs, and proteins at the epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional levels were examined. This critical review also highlights recent breakthroughs in lncRNA signaling pathways in HCC progression, shedding light on the potential applications of lncRNAs for HCC diagnosis and therapy.

Terahertz metamaterial biosensor for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma at early stage

We propose a method for diagnosis of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by using a terahertz (THz) metamaterial (MM) biosensor. The biosensor has a resonance frequency at about 0.801 THz and can measure the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in serum. The sensitivity of the sensor is 124 GHz/refractive index unit (RIU), and the quality-factor (Q) is 6.913, respectively. When the surface of the biosensor is covered with healthy serum (AFP≤7ng/mL), the maximum resonance frequency shift is 50 GHz. However, when it is covered with serum from patients with cirrhosis and early HCC (AFP>7ng/mL), the resonance frequency shift is more than 59 GHz. Positive correlation exists between the frequency shift of the biosensor and serum levels of the AFP in the HCC patients. This study provides a method for quick diagnosis and prediction of cirrhosis and HCC.

RNA sequencing of plasma exosomes revealed novel functional long noncoding RNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma

Exosomal long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) has been found to be associated with the development of cancers. However, the expression characteristics and the biological roles of exosomal lncRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. Here, by RNA sequencing, we found 9440 mRNAs and 8572 lncRNAs were differentially expressed (DE-) in plasma exosomes between HCC patients and healthy controls. Exosomal DE-lncRNAs displayed higher expression levels and tissue specificity, lower expression variability and splicing efficiency than DE-mRNAs. Six candidate DE-lncRNAs (fold change 6 or more, P ≤ .01) were high in HCC cells and cell exosomes. The knockdown of these candidate DE-lncRNAs significantly affected the migration, proliferation, and apoptosis in HCC cells. In particular, a novel DE-lncRNA, RP11-85G21.1 (lnc85), promoted HCC cellular proliferation and migration by targeted binding and regulating of miR-324-5p. More importantly, the level of serum lnc85 was highly expressed in both Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-positive and AFP-negative HCC patients and allowed distinguishing AFP-negative HCC from healthy control and liver cirrhosis (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.869; sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 76.5%) with high accuracy. Our finding offers a new insight into the association between the dysregulation of exosomal lncRNA and HCC, suggesting that lnc85 could be a potential biomarker of HCC.

Repression of lncRNA-SVUGP2 mediated by EZH2 contributes to the development of non-small cell lung cancer via brisking Wnt/β-catenin signal

To grab the possible impact of lncRNA-SVUGP2 in the biology and process of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Sixty paired NSCLC tumour and the adjacent non-tumour lung tissues were collected for detection of lncRNA-SVUGP2. lncRNA-SVUGP2 expression in NSCLC cells (SK-MES-1, A549, SPC-A1, and NCI-H1975) was also detected. lncRNA-SVUGP2 was overexpressed and depressed in A549 and H1975 cells, and the effects of lncRNA-SVUGP2 dysregulation on cell biological performances including viability, colony formation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were grabbed. Furthermore, the regulatory association of lncRNA-SVUGP2 vs. EZH2 in H1975 cells, as well as the association between lncRNA-SVUGP2 and Wnt/β-catenin pathway, was explored. lncRNA-SVUGP2 was depressed in NSCLC tissues and cells. Overexpression of lncRNA-SVUGP2 depressed proliferation, induced apoptosis, and suppressed migration and invasion of A549 and H1975 cells. In addition, lncRNA-SVUGP2 was repressed by EZH2 and was inversely correlated with EZH2 levels in H1975 cells. Repression of lncRNA-SVUGP2 potentially participated in the oncogenic function of EZH2. Besides, overexpression of lncRNA-SVUGP2 depressed the briskness of Wnt/β-catenin signal in H1975 cells. Our data reveal that lncRNA-SVUGP2 is under-expressed in NSCLC cells and the reduced expression of lncRNA-SVUGP2 may enhance the development and process of NSCLC by interacting with EZH2 and activating Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Comprehensive biological function analysis of lncRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma

Thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered in human genomes by gene chip, next-generation sequencing, and/or other methods in recent years, which represent a significant subset of the universal genes involved in a wide range of biological functions. An abnormal expression of lncRNAs is associated with the growth, invasion, and metastasis of various types of human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is an aggressive, highly malignant, and invasive tumor, and a poor prognosis in China. With a more in-depth understanding of lncRNA research for HCC and the emergence of new molecular-targeted therapies, the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of HCC will be considerably improved. Therefore, this review is expected to provide recommendations and directions for future lncRNA research for HCC.

Identification of a novel four-lncRNA signature as a prognostic indicator in cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Many studies have shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) are closely associated with the occurrence and development of various tumors and have the potential to be prognostic markers. Moreover, cirrhosis is an important prognostic risk factors in patients with liver cancer. Some studies have reported that lncRNA-related prognostic models have been used to predict overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, no one has constructed a prognostic lncRNA model only in patients with cirrhotic HCC. Thus, it is necessary to screen novel potential lncRNA markers for improve the prognosis of cirrhotic HCC patients.

Methods

The probe expression profile dataset (GSE14520–GPL3921) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), which included 204 cirrhotic HCC samples, was reannotated and the lncRNA and mRNA expression dataset was obtained. The patients were randomly assigned to either the training set (n = 103) and testing set (n = 100). Univariate cox regression and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) model were applied to screen lncRNAs linked to the OS of cirrhotic HCC in the training set. The lncRNAs having significant correlation with OS were then selected and the multivariate Cox regression model was implemented to construct the prognostic score model. Whether or not this model was related to RFS in the training set was simultaneously determined. The testing set was used to validate the lncRNA risk score model. A risk score based on the lncRNA signature was used for stratified analysis of different clinical features to test their prognostic performance. The prognostic lncRNA-related protein genes were identified by the co-expression matrix of lncRNA-mRNA, and the function of these lncRNAs was predicted through the enrichment of these co-expression genes.

Results

The signature consisted of four lncRNAs:AC093797.1,POLR2J4,AL121748.1 and AL162231.4. The risk model was closely correlated with the OS of cirrhotic HCC in the training cohort, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.650 (95% CI [1.761–7.566]) and log-rank P value of 0.0002. Moreover, this model also showed favorable prognostic significance for RFS in the training set (HR: 2.392, 95% CI [1.374–4.164], log-rank P = 0.0015). The predictive performance of the four-lncRNA model for OS and RFS was verified in the testing set. Furthermore, the results of stratified analysis revealed that the four-lncRNA model was an independent factor in the prediction of OS and RFS of patients with clinical characteristics such as TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis system) stages I–II, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages 0–A, and solitary tumors in both the training set and testing set. The results of functional prediction showed that four lncRNAs may be potentially involve in multiple metabolic processes, such as amino acid, lipid, and glucose metabolism in cirrhotic HCC.

Epidermal growth factor-containing fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 1 (EFEMP1) suppressed the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by promoting Semaphorin 3B(SEMA3B)

AIM

Epidermal growth factor-containing fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 1(EFEMP1) has been found to be involved in the occurrence and development of many cancers. The relationship between EFEMP1 and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the molecular mechanism are not fully understood.

METHODS

Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and tissue microarray were used to detect the expression of EFEMP1 in HCC cell lines and tissue. Methylation-specific PCR assay was used to measure the methylation level of EFEMP1 in HCC cell lines and tissue. To study the function of EFEMP1 on cell function, Huh7 and HepG2 were infected with lentiviral particles expressing EFEMP1. MTT assay and colony formation assay were used to examine the effect of EFEMP1 on cell proliferation. Annexin-VAPC/7-AAD double were used to detect the effect of EFEMP1 on cell apoptosis. To further detect the effect of EFEMP1 on the development of HCC in vivo, we performed the tumor formation experiment in nude mice. Gene chip was used to detect the expression profile of Huh7 and HepG2 overexpressing EFEMP1. To further screen out the differences, GO analysis and pathway analysis were performed. To study the effects of SEMA3B, specific siRNA was used to inhibit the expression of SEMA3B. Chi-squared test and rank sum test were used to analyze the relationship between EFEMP1 expression and HCC clinical characteristic.

RESULTS

The study found that the expression of EFEMP1 was significantly decreased in HCC cell lines and HCC tissues. The expression level of EFEMP1 was related to the TNM (the extent of the tumor, the extent of spread to the lymph nodes, the presence of metastasis) stage and the prognosis of patients with HCC. The decrease of protein expression suggested that the patient prognosis was worse, and the protein level of EFEMP1 may be an independent factor in the prognosis of HCC patients. Promoter methylation may be one of the reasons for EFEMP1 inhibition. EFEMP1 could inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells and promoted the apoptosis of HCC cells to regulate the development of HCC. And EFEMP1 promoted the apoptosis of HCC cells mainly through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. EFEMP1 may inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells through the SEMA3B gene in the Axon guidance pathway.

CONCLUSION

In summary, our research revealed the regulation of EFEMP1 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in HCC. EFEMP1 may suppress the growth of HCC cells by promoting SEMA3B.

Network Pharmacology-Based Study on the Mechanism of Bushen-Jianpi Decoction in Liver Cancer Treatment

To investigate the mechanism of a Bushen-Jianpi decoction (BSJPD) in liver cancer (LC) treatment, we analyzed clinical therapy data, conducted network pharmacology analysis, and performed pharmacological experimental verification in vitro and in vivo. The univariate analysis of clinical therapy showed that the BSJPD was protective factor (p < 0.05). The network pharmacology analysis showed that 9 compounds were important nodes of BSJPD-LC therapy network. In experimental verification, the rate of apoptosis increased in the liver tumors of mice treated with the BSJPD (p < 0.05); drug serum with 20 % BSJPD inhibited cell viability (p < 0.05) and reduced the expression of PI3K, the Bcl-xL/BAD ratio, and the levels of p53 and p-Akt in HepG2 cells. Moreover, licochalcone A, alisol B, and hederagenin inhibited cell viability (p < 0.05), induced cell apoptosis (p < 0.01), reduced p-Akt levels, and increased cleaved-CASP3 (p < 0.05) and p53 expression levels in HepG2 cells. These data suggest that the BSJPD prolongs the survival of LC patients and induces apoptosis and that it may be associated with the regulation of PI3K, Akt, p53, CASP3, and Bcl-xL/BAD expression.

Upregulation of lncRNA FER1L4 suppresses the proliferation and migration of the hepatocellular carcinoma via regulating PI3K/AKT signal pathway

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the potential function of FER1L4 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and uncover its underlying molecular mechanism.

METHODS

In the current study, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to determine the expression profile of FER1L4 in normal liver tissues and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues of human, as well as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines including HL-7702[L-02], HepG-2, Hep3b, and SMMC-7721. Then, HepG-2 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1-FER1L4 (pcDNA3.1-empty as negative control) for gain-of-function analysis, followed with cell functional abnormality tests. Specifically, colony formation analysis and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide experiment were taken advantage to measure the cell proliferation, while cell migration and invasion were evaluated by wound healing assay and transwell experiment respectively. Additionally, cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Moreover, the effect of FER1L4 on PI3K/AKT signal pathway activation was investigated through analyzing phosphorylation of related proteins, p-AKT/AKT and p-PI3K/PI3K, via Western blot assay.

RESULTS

Downregulation of FER1L4 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and cells was demonstrated by qRT-PCR analysis. Besides, FER1L4 overexpression evidently attenuated the cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but prompted cell apoptosis. Importantly, Western blot assays revealed that PII3K/AKT signal pathway were involved in mediating the progression regulation role of FER1L4 in HCC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggested that FER1L4 might alleviate progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via blocking PI3K/AKT pathway, which encourages a better understanding of the pathogenesis of HCC and may provide a novel potential therapeutic target for clinical treatment.

Oncogene Delta/Notch-Like EGF-Related Receptor Promotes Cell Proliferation, Invasion, and Migration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Predicts a Poor Prognosis

PURPOSE

To determine the expression and function of Delta/Notch-like EGF-related receptor (DNER) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

The expression of DNER in 84 HCC tissue samples and matched adjacent noncancerous specimens, as well as HCC cells, were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. Survival analysis was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method. For experiments in vitro, cell viability was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 Assay and Colony Formation Assay. Furthermore, cell invasion and migration assays were performed with Transwell Assay.

RESULTS

The results showed that DNER was overexpressed in the tissues and cell lines of HCC (all, p < 0.05), and the upregulated expression of DNER was significantly correlated with advanced pathologic stage (p = 0.013) and pathologic-M1 (p = 0.012) in HCC patients. Survival analysis revealed that patients with high DNER levels had worse overall survival (OS) than those with low DNER levels (p = 0.004). More importantly, DNER could be an independent predictor of prognosis for OS (HR = 2.582, 95% CI 1.239-5.380, p = 0.011). In vitro, knockdown of DNER significantly suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation, cell invasion, and cell migration in HepG2 cells. Moreover, inhibition of DNER inactivated PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by downregulating the expression of p-PI3K, p-AKT, and p-70s6k.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, DNER could promote proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells by regulating the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway, and it might act as a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC.

Long noncoding RNA DGCR5 represses hepatocellular carcinoma progression by inactivating Wnt signaling pathway

Increasing studies have indicated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) exert important roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, it is of great significance to identify the dysregulated lncRNAs in HCC. According to the previous reports, it has been suggested that DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 5 (DGCR5) might participate in HCC and can serve as potential biomarker for HCC. In our current study, we concentrated on the biological function and roles of lncRNA-DGCR5 in HCC. It was indicated that DGCR5 was decreased in HCC tissues and HCC cells including HepG2, Hep3B, MHCC-97L, SNU-449, and SNU-182 cells compared with the normal human liver cell line LO2. Overexpression of DGCR5 was able to restrain HCC growth, migration, and invasion capacity in HepG2 and SNU-449 cells. In addition, whether lncRNA-DGCR5 can regulate Wnt/β-catenin pathway during HCC progression is unclear. In our study, it was found that upregulation of DGCR5 inactivated Wnt signaling pathway through inhibiting β-catenin, cyclin D1 and increasing GSK-3β levels. Subsequently, in vivo tumor xenografts were established using HepG2 cells to investigate the function of DGCR5 in HCC development. Inconsistent with the in vitro findings, increase of DGCR5 dramatically suppressed HCC tumor progression in vivo. Taken these together, it was uncovered in our research that DGCR5 could play tumor suppressive role by targeting Wnt signaling in HCC progression.

Systematic analyses of a novel lncRNA-associated signature as the prognostic biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Accumulating evidence implies that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in predicting survival for Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. This study aims to capture the current research hotspots of HCC, based on the analysis of publications related to HCC research from 2013 to 2017, and to identify a novel lncRNA signature for HCC prognosis through the data mining in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). “Prognosis” and “biomarker” were located in the core of the HCC research hotspot. Moreover, long noncoding RNA was the top one research frontier in HCC research. The associations between survival outcome and the expression of lncRNAs were evaluated by the univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. Four lncRNAs (LINC00261, TRELM3P, GBP1P1, and CDKN2B‐AS1) were identified as significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). These four lncRNAs were gathered as a single prognostic signature. There was a significant positive correlation between HCC patients with low‐risk scores and overall survival (HR = 1.802, 95%CI [1.224‐2.652], P = .003). Further analysis suggested that the prognostic value of this four‐lncRNA signature was independent in clinical features. The enrichment analysis of prognostic lncRNA‐related gene was performed to find out the related pathways. Our study indicates that this novel lncRNA expression signature may be a useful biomarker of the prognosis for HCC patients, based on bioinformatics analysis.

lncRNA-MEG3 Suppresses the Proliferation and Invasion of Melanoma by Regulating CYLD Expression Mediated by Sponging miR-499-5p

The abnormal expression of long noncoding RNA- (lncRNA-) MEG3 was clearly identified in a number of malignant tumors, but the specific function of MEG3 remains unknown in malignant melanoma until now. The research attempts to explore the effects of MEG3 on the growth and metastasis of malignant melanoma. MEG3 and miR-499-5p expression were determined by qRT-PCR method. Western blotting assay was applied to detect protein expression. Luciferase reporter assay was used to assess the correlation between MEG3 and miR-499-5p and between CYLD and miR-499-5p. Cell growth, cell cycle, and cell apoptosis were examined by CCK-8 assay, EdU assay, and flow cytometry assay, respectively. The invasion ability of melanoma cells was investigated by wound-healing and Transwell assays. The effect of MEG3 on growth of melanoma in vivo and cell chemosensitivity was detected by xenograft animal model and CCK-8 assay. As a result, the expression of MEG3 was decreased in melanoma tissues and cell lines. The level of MEG3 was significantly associated with poor prognosis. MEG3 could bind to miR-499-5p and CYLD mRNA contained a binding site of miR-499-5p. The expression of CYLD was reduced and the level of miR-499-5p was elevated in melanoma tissues and cell lines. Luciferase reporter assay and western blot assay confirmed that MEG3 regulated the expression of CYLD by sponging miR-499-5p. Functionally, upregulation of MEG3 inhibited melanoma cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, enhanced melanoma cell apoptosis, arrested melanoma cell cycle, and regulated the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and cyclin D1 by regulating CYLD expression mediated by sponging miR-499-5p. Importantly, overexpression of MEG3 suppressed the growth of xenograft tumor and improved chemotherapy sensitivity of A375 cells to cisplatin and 5-FU treatment. In conclusion, MEG3 has a crucial function in the tumorigenesis of melanoma, and MEG3 may be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of melanoma.

Long Noncoding RNA CCAL Promotes Papillary Thyroid Cancer Progression by Activation of NOTCH1 Pathway

Long noncoding RNA CCAL has been reported to promote tumor progression in various human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, osteosarcoma, and colorectal cancer. However, the role of CCAL in papillary thyroid cancer remains largely unknown. In the present study, we found that the expression of CCAL was upregulated in papillary thyroid tumor tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, the expression of CCAL was positively related with papillary thyroid cancer severity and TNM stage and predicated poor prognosis. Besides, we found that knockdown of CCAL significantly inhibited papillary thyroid cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and reduced tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. We found that knockdown of CCAL dramatically decreased the expression of NOTCH1 and suppressed the activation of the NOTCH1 signaling pathway. Furthermore, overexpression of NOTCH1 rescued the proliferation, migration, and invasion in papillary thyroid cancer cells. Taken together, our data indicated that CCAL promoted papillary thyroid cancer development and progression by activation of the NOTCH1 pathway, which provided a new insight on the design of therapeutic targets.

Long Noncoding RNA FGFR3-AS1 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Carcinogenesis via Modulating the PI3K/AKT Pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as one of the most refractory cancers leads to high mortality worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs have been widely acknowledged as important biomarkers and therapeutic targets in HCC. In this study, we investigated the effects of long noncoding RNA FGFR3-AS1 on tumor growth and metastasis in HCC. First, we found that the expression of FGFR3-AS1 was upregulated about threefold in HCC samples and cell lines. We knocked down FGFR3-AS1 in Huh7 and Hep3B cells and found that FGFR3-AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation but induced apoptosis. Moreover, FGFR3-AS1 knockdown led to more HCC cells arrested in the G₀ stage. FGFR3-AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion. Additionally, we found that FGFR3-AS1 silencing dramatically delayed tumor growth in vivo. We found that, mechanistically, FGFR3-AS1 silencing decreased the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Taken together, our data demonstrated the pro-oncogenic role of FGFR3-AS1 in HCC and suggested that FGFR3-AS1 may serve as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and therapeutic target for HCC treatment.

Behind the curtain of non-coding RNAs; long non-coding RNAs regulating hepatocarcinogenesis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and aggressive cancers worldwide. HCC is the fifth common malignancy in the world and the second leading cause of cancer death in Asia. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNAs with a length greater than 200 nucleotides that do not encode proteins. lncRNAs can regulate gene expression and protein synthesis in several ways by interacting with DNA, RNA and proteins in a sequence specific manner. They could regulate cellular and developmental processes through either gene inhibition or gene activation. Many studies have shown that dysregulation of lncRNAs is related to many human diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, genetic disorders, neurological diseases, immune mediated disorders and cancers. However, the study of lncRNAs is challenging as they are poorly conserved between species, their expression levels aren’t as high as that of mRNAs and have great interpatient variations. The study of lncRNAs expression in cancers have been a breakthrough as it unveils potential biomarkers and drug targets for cancer therapy and helps understand the mechanism of pathogenesis. This review discusses many long non-coding RNAs and their contribution in HCC, their role in development, metastasis, and prognosis of HCC and how to regulate and target these lncRNAs as a therapeutic tool in HCC treatment in the future.