microRNA-26a Directly Targeting MMP14 and MMP16 Inhibits the Cancer Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

MMP11 and MMP17 are potential biomarkers for uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma prognosis

BACKGROUND

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are important proteases that degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and thus essentially mediate tumor vascularization, metastasis, and invasion. However, their potential roles in uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) are not fully understood.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The expression, prognostic value, and correlation of UCEC patients with MMP were investigated using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and other databases. Furthermore, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and their biological functions and correlations with infiltrating immune cells were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 22 MMPs were found to be abnormally expressed in UCEC tumor tissues, and high expression of MMP11 and MMP17 were associated with a better UCEC prognosis. MMP11 and MMP17 were observed to be significantly enriched in tumor tissue ECM and were associated with pathways involving degradation, glycolytic metabolism, and PI3K-Akt signaling. Infiltration of natural killer (NK), mast, and NK CD56bright cells was enhanced in tumor tissues with high MMP11 and MMP17 expression.

CONCLUSION

MMP11 and MMP17 may affect UCEC prognosis by influencing immune cell infiltration and may be potential UCEC biomarkers.

The long and short non-coding RNAs modulating EZH2 signaling in cancer

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a large family of RNA molecules with no capability in encoding proteins. However, they participate in developmental and biological processes and their abnormal expression affects cancer progression. These RNA molecules can function as upstream mediators of different signaling pathways and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is among them. Briefly, EZH2 belongs to PRCs family and can exert functional roles in cells due to its methyltransferase activity. EZH2 affects gene expression via inducing H3K27me3. In the present review, our aim is to provide a mechanistic discussion of ncRNAs role in regulating EZH2 expression in different cancers. MiRNAs can dually induce/inhibit EZH2 in cancer cells to affect downstream targets such as Wnt, STAT3 and EMT. Furthermore, miRNAs can regulate therapy response of cancer cells via affecting EZH2 signaling. It is noteworthy that EZH2 can reduce miRNA expression by binding to promoter and exerting its methyltransferase activity. Small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) are synthetic, short ncRNAs capable of reducing EZH2 expression and suppressing cancer progression. LncRNAs mainly regulate EZH2 expression via targeting miRNAs. Furthermore, lncRNAs induce EZH2 by modulating miRNA expression. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs), like lncRNAs, affect EZH2 expression via targeting miRNAs. These areas are discussed in the present review with a focus on molecular pathways leading to clinical translation.

CircRNA has_circ_0001806 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression via the miR-193a-5p/MMP16 pathway

Reportedly, circular RNAs (circRNAs) are crucial regulators in cancer progression. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanism of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been fully clarified. Gene expression omnibus (GEO) database was employed to screen out the differentially expressed circRNAs in HCC. qRT-PCR and western blot were executed to detect circ_0001806 expression, miR-193a-5p expression, and MMP16 mRNA and protein expressions in HCC. The effect of circ_0001806 on HCC was analyzed by the CCK-8 method and Transwell experiment. RIP assay, pull-down experiment, and dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment were applied to validate the targeting relationships among circ_0001806, miR-193a-5p, and MMP16. Circ_0001806 was up-modulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of circ_0001806 impeded the multiplication, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Circ_0001806 could up-regulate MMP16 expression through repressing miR-193a-5p, thereby facilitating the malignant biological behaviors of HCC. Circ_0001806 promoted HCC progression by regulating miR-193a-5p/MMP16 axis.

MMP1 and MMP9 are potential prognostic biomarkers and targets for uveal melanoma

BACKGROUND

Uveal melanoma (UVM) is the leading cause of eye-related mortality worldwide. This study aimed to explore the expression and prognostic value of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in UVM.

METHODS

Gene expression levels were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and Oncomine databases. Functional and pathway enrichment analyses were performed using the Metascape database. GeneMANIA was then applied to construct a protein-protein interaction network and identify the hub genes. Moreover, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) analysis for the hub genes was performed using the UALCAN and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) online tool. Furthermore, TRRUST was used to predict the targets of the MMPs.

RESULTS

Our results revealed that the transcriptional levels of MMP1, MMP9, MMP10, MMP11, MMP13, MMP14, and MMP17 were upregulated in UVM tissues compared to normal tissues. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed and the top 50 hub genes were identified. The functions of MMPs and their neighboring proteins are mainly associated with ECM-receptor interaction, proteoglycans in cancer, the IL-17 signaling pathway, and microRNAs in cancer. Among the MMPs, MMP1/2/9/11/14/15/16/17/24 played significant roles in the progression of UVM from stage 3 to stage 4. We also found that the expression of MMP1, MMP2, MMP9, and MMP16 positively correlated with OS and DFS in patients with UVM. Additionally, 18 transcription factors associated with nine MMPs were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study may provide potential biomarkers and targets for UVM. However, further studies are required to confirm these results.

Oh, the Mutations You'll Acquire! A Systematic Overview of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Nearly two million cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) are diagnosed every year in the United States alone. cSCC is notable for both its prevalence and its propensity for invasion and metastasis. For many patients, surgery is curative. However, patients experiencing immunosuppression or recurrent, advanced, and metastatic disease still face limited therapeutic options and significant mortality. cSCC forms after decades of sun exposure and possesses the highest known mutation rate of all cancers. This mutational burden complicates efforts to identify the primary factors driving cSCC initiation and progression, which in turn hinders the development of targeted therapeutics. In this review, we summarize the mutations and alterations that have been observed in patients’ cSCC tumors, affecting signaling pathways, transcriptional regulators, and the microenvironment. We also highlight novel therapeutic opportunities in development and clinical trials.