Lipase member H is a downstream molecular target of hypoxia inducible factor-1α and promotes papillary thyroid carcinoma cell migration in BCPAP and KTC-1 cell lines

Genomic analysis and filtration of novel prognostic biomarkers based on metabolic and immune subtypes in pancreatic cancer

PURPOSE

Patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) can be classified into various molecular subtypes and benefit from some precise therapy. Nevertheless, the interaction between metabolic and immune subtypes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unknown. We hope to identify molecular subtypes related to metabolism and immunity in pancreatic cancer METHODS: Unsupervised consensus clustering and ssGSEA analysis were utilized to construct molecular subtypes related to metabolism and immunity. Diverse metabolic and immune subtypes were characterized by distinct prognoses and TME. Afterward, we filtrated the overlapped genes based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the metabolic and immune subtypes by lasso regression and Cox regression, and used them to build risk score signature which led to PC patients was categorized into high- and low-risk groups. Nomogram were built to predict the survival rates of each PC patient. RT-PCR, in vitro cell proliferation assay, PC organoid, immunohistochemistry staining were used to identify key oncogenes related to PC RESULTS: High-risk patients have a better response for various chemotherapeutic drugs in the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database. We built a nomogram with the risk group, age, and the number of positive lymph nodes to predict the survival rates of each PC patient with average 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year areas under the curve (AUCs) equal to 0.792, 0.752, and 0.751. FAM83A, KLF5, LIPH, MYEOV were up-regulated in the PC cell line and PC tissues. Knockdown of FAM83A, KLF5, LIPH, MYEOV could reduce the proliferation in the PC cell line and PC organoids CONCLUSION: The risk score signature based on the metabolism and immune molecular subtypes can accurately predict the prognosis and guide treatments of PC, meanwhile, the metabolism-immune biomarkers may provide novel target therapy for PC.

Circular RNA eukaryotic translation initiation factor 6 facilitates TPC-1 cell proliferation and invasion through the microRNA-138-5p/lipase H axis

Both circular RNA eukaryotic translation initiation factor 6 (circEIF6) and microRNA (miR)-138-5p participate in thyroid cancer (TC) progression. Nevertheless, the relationship between them remains under-explored. Hence, this research ascertained the mechanism of circEIF6 in TC via miR-138-5p. After TC tissues and cells were harvested, circEIF6, miR-138-5p, and lipase H (LIPH) levels were assessed. The binding relationships among circEIF6, miR-138-5p, and LIPH were analyzed. The impacts of circEIF6, miR-138-5p, and LIPH on the invasive and proliferative abilities of TPC-1 cells were examined by Transwell and EdU assays. Tumor xenograft in nude mice was established for in vivo validation of the impact of circEIF6. CircEIF6 expression was high in TC cells and tissues. Additionally, miR-138-5p was poor and LIPH level was high in TC tissues. Mechanistically, circEIF6 competitively bound to miR-138-5p to elevate LIPH via a competitive endogenous RNA mechanism. Silencing of circEIF6 reduced TPC-1 cell proliferative and invasive properties, which was annulled by further inhibiting miR-138-5p or overexpressing LIPH. Likewise, circEIF6 silencing repressed the growth of transplanted tumors, augmented miR-138-5p expression, and diminished LIPH expression in nude mice. Conclusively, circEIF6 silencing reduced LIPH level by competitive binding to miR-138-5p, thus subduing the proliferation and invasion of TPC-1 cells.

Oleuropein attenuates testicular ischemia-reperfusion by inhibiting apoptosis and inflammation

BACKGROUND

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is the key reason of injury after testicular torsion and may eventually lead to male infertility. Oleuropein, a natural antioxidant isolated from Olea europaea, has shown beneficial effects in different models of ischemia. We evaluated the effects of oleuropein on testicular IRI and explored the underlying protective mechanisms.

METHODS

A mouse testicular torsion/detorsion (T/D) model and an oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) germ cell model were established and treated with oleuropein. H&E staining was used to evaluate testicular pathological changes. Apoptosis and apoptosis-associated protein levels in testis tissues were assessed by TUNEL staining, immunohistochemical staining and western blot. Apoptosis levels and apoptosis-associated protein levels in GC-1 were evaluated by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and western blot. Oxidative stress levels were assessed by malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) kits. Cell viability and inflammatory protein levels were evaluated by CCK-8 assay coupled with qRT-PCR.

RESULTS

Relative to the control group, SOD activity was markedly suppressed, while MDA, Bax, Caspase-3, TNF-α as well as IL-1β levels were significantly increased in the T/D model and OGD/R model. However, all of the aforementioned alterations were relieved by oleuropein treatment.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that oleuropein may be a promising treatment option to attenuate testicular IRI via its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory as well as anti-apoptotic properties.

Comparative transcriptomics of high-altitude Vulpes and their low-altitude relatives

The harsh environment of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) imposes strong selective stresses (e.g., hypoxia, high UV-radiation, and extreme temperature) to the native species, which have driven striking phenotypic and genetic adaptations. Although the mechanisms of high-altitude adaptation have been explored for many plateau species, how the phylogenetic background contributes to genetic adaption to high-altitude of Vulpes is largely unknown. In this study, we sequenced transcriptomic data across multiple tissues of two high-altitude Vulpes (Vulpes vulpes montana and Vulpes ferrilata) and their low-altitude relatives (Vulpes corsac and Vulpes lagopus) to search the genetic and gene expression changes caused by high-altitude environment. The results indicated that the positive selection genes (PSGs) identified by both high-altitude Vulpes are related to angiogenesis, suggesting that angiogenesis may be the result of convergent evolution of Vulpes in the face of hypoxic selection pressure. In addition, more PSGs were detected in V. ferrilata than in V. v. montana, which may be related to the longer adaptation time of V. ferrilata to plateau environment and thus more genetic changes. Besides, more PSGs associated with high-altitude adaptation were identified in V. ferrilata compared with V. v. montana, indicating that the longer the adaptation time to the high-altitude environment, the more genetic alterations of the species. Furthermore, the result of expression profiles revealed a tissue-specific pattern between Vulpes. We also observed that differential expressed genes in the high-altitude group exhibited species-specific expression patterns, revealed a convergent expression pattern of Vulpes in high-altitude environment. In general, our research provides a valuable transcriptomic resource for further studies, and expands our understanding of high-altitude adaptation within a phylogenetic context.

Prognostic Value and Clinical Significance of LIPH in Breast Cancer

Background

Lipase member H (LIPH), a novel member of the mammalian triglyceride lipase family, is localized on human chromosome 3q27-q28. Exploration of the importance of the new cancer-related gene LIPH in several carcinomas has been reported in previous studies. Our study aims to systematically assess the expression pattern of LIPH in breast cancer.

Methods

Our study explored 2994 breast cancer samples with transcriptome data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) datasets. We systematically evaluated the mRNA expression of LIPH in breast cancer and the overall survival (OS) of patients. The protein expression of LIPH in breast cancer was evaluated with the Human Protein Atlas. We also explored the relationship between LIPH and the immune microenvironment in pan-cancer.

Results

Both mRNA and protein expression LIPH were found to be upregulated in breast cancer tumors. The overall survival rate of patients with high LIPH expression was lower than those of patients with low LIPH expression in both the TCGA dataset (p=0.0067) and METABRIC dataset (p<0.0001). Outcomes of the multivariate analysis found that the level of LIPH expression was an independent prognostic factor in both TCGA (p=0.001) and METABRIC (p=0.019) databases. The outcomes of the univariate analysis showed that LIPH was an important prognostic factor (p=0.01 in TCGA dataset, p=0.001 in METABRIC dataset). In the TCGA dataset, outcomes showed that LIPH expression was negatively correlated with the AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) stage (p=2.3e-05) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tissues (p=3.1e-10). High LIPH expression showed lower OS in the TNBC subtype (P=0.011).

Conclusion

Compared to normal tissues, the expression of LIPH was higher in breast cancer tissues in both mRNA and protein levels. This study showed that the high level of LIPH expression might be related to the worse prognosis of breast cancer.

Identification of LIPH as an unfavorable biomarkers correlated with immune suppression or evasion in pancreatic cancer based on RNA-seq

BACKGROUND

It is widely considered that pancreatic cancer (PC) is an immunosuppressive cancer. Immune-based therapies remain promising therapeutic strategies for PC. Overexpression of lipase H (LIPH) was reported to be related to immunity in cattle and has also been demonstrated to promote tumor progression in several tumors, but its role in pancreatic carcinogenesis remains unclear. Study on LIPH in PC might provide a new insight into the immunosuppression in PC.

METHODS

The potential biological and clinical significance of LIPH was evaluated by bioinformatics analysis. We further investigated potential associations between the expression of LIPH and tumor immune infiltration using the CIBERSORT algorithm, the ESTIMAT algorithm, and single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA).

RESULTS

LIPH was significantly overexpressed in tumor tissues compared with normal tissues. LIPH overexpression correlated with tumor recurrence, advanced histologic grade, and poorer overall survival (OS). Four of the most common somatic mutation, including KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, and SMAD4, in PC were all correlated with high LIPH expression. And high LIPH expression was significantly correlated with KRAS activation and SMAD4 inactivation. Besides, LIPH expression was involved in various biological pathways such as negative regulation of cell-cell adhesion, actin cytoskeleton, EMT, angiogenesis, and signaling by MST1. And LIPH overexpression caused high infiltration of TAMs, Treg cells, and Th2/Th1, but reduced the infiltration of CD8⁺ T cells and Th1 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrated that LIPH correlated with immune suppression or evasion and may function as a novel unfavorable prognostic biomarker in PC.

Circ_LDLR promoted the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma via regulating miR-195-5p/LIPH axis

Background

Emerging studies have demonstrated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key regulators for tumorigenesis in cancers, including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of circ_LDLR on PTC.

Methods

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to determine the levels of circ_LDLR, miR-195-5p and lipase H (LIPH). RNase R digestion assay and Actinomycin D assay were utilized to analyze the characteristics of circ_LDLR. Colony formation assay and 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay were conducted to evaluate cell proliferation. Western blot assay was used for the determination of protein levels. Flow cytometry analysis was applied to determine cell apoptosis. Transwell assay was performed to determine cell migration and invasion. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the associations among circ_LDLR, miR-195-5p and LIPH. The murine xenograft model was constructed to explore the roles of circ_LDLR in vivo.

Results

Compared to normal tissues and cells, circ_LDLR was upregulated in PTC tissues and cells. Silencing of circ_LDLR suppressed PTC cell colony formation, proliferation, migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis in vitro and hampered tumor growth in vivo. For mechanism investigation, circ_LDLR could regulate LIPH expression via sponging miR-195-5p. Moreover, miR-195-5p inhibition restored the effects of circ_LDLR knockdown on the malignant behaviors of PTC cells. MiR-195-5p overexpression inhibited PTC cell colony formation, proliferation, migration and invasion and facilitated apoptosis by targeting LIPH.

Conclusion

Circ_LDLR knockdown decelerated PTC progression by regulating miR-195-5p/LIPH axis, which might provide a novel therapeutic target for PTC.

ANGPTL4 Promotes the Proliferation of Papillary Thyroid Cancer via AKT Pathway

Purpose

Although papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is associated with a generally favorable prognosis, about 15% of patients present recurrence and distant metastasis in the next decade leading to death. Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is secreted to circulation and belongs to the angiopoietin-like proteins. The expression of ANGPTL4 was increased in several solid tumor tissues compared to corresponding paracancerous tissues. ANGPTL4 was identified as pro-tumorigenic protein, including stimulating tumor cell growth, promoting tumor metastasis. However, the clinical significance and biological function of ANGPTL4 in PTC is still unclear. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of ANGPTL4 in PTC, investigating the possibility of whether ANGPTL4 could become a novel target for PTC therapy.

Methods

We investigated the expression level of ANGPTL4 and pAKT in PTC and paracancerous tissue by immunohistochemistry. We determined the effect of ANGPTL4 in PTC cell proliferation through cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and cell cycle by flow cytometry analysis. Furthermore, the correlation between ANGPTL4 expression levels and PTC cell proliferation from the TCGA data set was analyzed by GSEA. We explored the role of ANGPTL4 on the phosphorylation of AKT and proliferation in PTC cells via overexpression or knockdown assays and AKT inhibitor assay.

Results

In the present study, we found that ANGPTL4 was highly expressed in both protein and mRNA level in PTC compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues or benign nodule. ANGPTL4 expression increased according to thyroid tumor progression. ANGPTL4 level was positively correlated with the size of PTC. ANGPTL4 increased cell proliferation and decreased cell cycle arrest of PTC. Knockdown of ANGPTL4 inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT. ANGPTL4 regulated PTC cell proliferation through AKT signaling pathway.

Conclusion

Our findings suggested that ANGPTL4 was increased in PTC compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues, and ANGPTL4 increased cell proliferation and inhibited cell cycle arrest in PTC cells via promoting AKT phosphorylation. The study may provide fundamental information to suggest its suitability as a target for the treatment of PTC.

Heterogenous nature of gene expression patterns in BRAF-like papillary thyroid carcinomas with BRAFV600E

PURPOSE

Papillary thyroid cancers (PTCs) are the most common type of thyroid cancers, in which BRAF^V600E is the most prevalent driver mutation. It is known that BRAF^V600E-positive PTCs are clinically and molecularly heterogenous in terms of aggressiveness and prognosis. The molecular mechanisms of this heterogeneity were evaluated.

METHODS

The publicly available RNA-seq data for 26 classical (c) and 5 follicular variant (fv) PTCs with BRAF^V600E mutation and the BRAF-like expression signature in the BRAF^V600E-RAS score (BRS) and their respective normal adjacent tissues were downloaded, and analyzed for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The DEGs were then analyzed with the Gene Ontology annotation and the KEGG pathway dataset.

RESULTS

We found four lines of evidence for heterogeneity of cPTCs. First, the cluster dendrogram and principle component analyses could not completely distinguish the cancer tissues from normal tissues. Second, the DEGs identified in each sample were highly diverse from one another. Third, although the DEGs were enriched in many terms containing the word "extracellular" ("extracellular region", "extracellular space", and so on) when analyzed as groups, the degree of this enrichment was variable when analyzed individually. Fourth, there are only a few intersections in the over-/underexpressed genes annotated with the terms containing the word "extracellular" among the samples examined. Essentially same results were obtained with BRAF-like, fvPTCs with BRAF^V600E. Nevertheless, some frequently over-/underexpressed genes were detected, of which LIPH (lipase H) expression was found to be prognostic and its high expression was favorable for PTCs.

CONCLUSION

Groups of BRAF-like, BRAF^V600E-positive cPTCs and fvPTCs that are homogenous in regard to histopathology, driver mutation and BRS were found to be highly heterogenous in terms of gene expression patterns. Yet, among the genes that were annotated with the terms containing the word "extracellular" and frequently over-/underexpressed, LIPH is a favorable prognostic marker for PTCs.