Long Non-Coding RNA Myosin Light Chain Kinase Antisense 1 Plays an Oncogenic Role in Gallbladder Carcinoma by Promoting Chemoresistance and Proliferation

Natural products and long noncoding RNA signatures in gallbladder cancer: a review focuses on pathogenesis, diagnosis, and drug resistance

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive and lethal malignancy with a poor prognosis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and natural products have emerged as key orchestrators of cancer pathogenesis through widespread dysregulation across GBC transcriptomes. Functional studies have revealed that lncRNAs interact with oncoproteins and tumor suppressors to control proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, stemness, and drug resistance. Curcumin, baicalein, oleanolic acid, shikonin, oxymatrine, arctigenin, liensinine, fangchinoline, and dioscin are a few examples of natural compounds that have demonstrated promising anticancer activities against GBC through the regulation of important signaling pathways. The lncRNAs, i.e., SNHG6, Linc00261, GALM, OIP5-AS1, FOXD2-AS1, MINCR, DGCR5, MEG3, GATA6-AS, TUG1, and DILC, are key players in regulating the aforementioned processes. For example, the lncRNAs FOXD2-AS1, DILC, and HOTAIR activate oncogenes such as DNMT1, Wnt/β-catenin, BMI1, and c-Myc, whereas MEG3 and GATA6-AS suppress the tumor proteins NF-κB, EZH2, and miR-421. Clinically, specific lncRNAs can serve as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers based on overexpression correlating with advanced TNM stage, metastasis, chemoresistance, and poor survival. Therapeutically, targeting aberrant lncRNAs with siRNA or antisense oligos disrupts their oncogenic signaling and inhibits GBC progression. Overall, dysfunctional lncRNA regulatory circuits offer multiple avenues for precision medicine approaches to improve early GBC detection and overcome this deadly cancer. They have the potential to serve as novel biomarkers as they are detectable in bodily fluids and tissues. These findings enhance gallbladder treatments, mitigating resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy.

Drug resistance and new therapies in gallbladder cancer

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a highly aggressive malignancy, which poses significant challenges for timely diagnosis, resulting in a dismal prognosis. Chemotherapy serves as a primary treatment option in cases where surgery is not feasible. However, the emergence of chemoresistance poses a significant challenge to the effectiveness of chemotherapy, ultimately resulting in a poor prognosis. Despite extensive research on mechanisms of chemotherapeutic resistance in oncology, the underlying mechanisms of chemoresistance in GBC remain poorly understood. In this review, we present the findings from the last decade on the molecular mechanisms of chemotherapeutic resistance in GBC. We hope that these insights may provide novel therapeutic and experimental targets for further investigations into this lethal disease.

Update on Chemoresistance Mechanisms to First-Line Chemotherapy for Gallbladder Cancer and Potential Reversal Strategies

OBJECTIVE

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) mortality remains high and chemoresistance is increasing. This review consolidates what is known about the mechanisms of chemoresistance to inform and accelerate the development of novel GBC-specific chemotherapies.

METHODS

Studies related to GBC-related chemoresistance were systematically screened in PubMed using the advanced search function. Search terms included GBC, chemotherapy, and signaling pathway.

RESULTS

Analysis of existing studies showed that GBC has poor sensitivity to cisplatin, gemcitabine (GEM), and 5-fluorouracil. DNA damage repair-related proteins, including CHK1, V-SCR, and H2AX, are involved in tumor adaptation to drugs. GBC-specific chemoresistance is often accompanied by changes in the apoptosis and autophagy-related molecules, BCL-2, CRT, and GBCDRlnc1. CD44 + and CD133 + GBC cells are less resistant to GEM, indicating that tumor stem cells are also involved in chemoresistance. In addition, glucose metabolism, fat synthesis, and glutathione metabolism can influence the development of drug resistance. Finally, chemosensitizers such as lovastatin, tamoxifen, chloroquine, and verapamil are able improve the therapeutic effect of cisplatin or GEM in GBC.

CONCLUSIONS

This review summarizes recent experimental and clinical studies of the molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance, including autophagy, DNA damage, tumor stem cells, mitochondrial function, and metabolism, in GBC. Information on potential chemosensitizers is also discussed. The proposed strategies to reverse chemoresistance should inform the clinical use of chemosensitizers and gene-based targeted therapy for this disease.

Roles of lncRNAs in childhood cancer: Current landscape and future perspectives

According to World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. Leukemias, brain cancers, lymphomas and solid tumors, such as neuroblastoma, ostesarcoma and Wilms tumors are the most common types of childhood cancers. Approximately 400,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 19 are diagnosed with cancer each year worldwide. The cancer incidence rates have been rising for the past few decades. Generally, the prognosis of childhood cancers is favorable, but the survival rate for many unresectable or recurring cancers is substantially worse. Although random genetic mutations, persistent infections, and environmental factors may serve as contributing factors for many pediatric malignancies, the underlying mechanisms are yet unknown. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a group of transcripts with longer than 200 nucleotides that lack the coding capacity. However, increasing evidence indicates that lncRNAs play vital regulatory roles in cancer initiation and development in both adults and children. In particular, many lncRNAs are stable in cancer patients' body fluids such as blood and urine, suggesting that they could be used as novel biomarkers. In support of this notion, lncRNAs have been identified in liquid biopsy samples from pediatric cancer patients. In this review, we look at the regulatory functions and underlying processes of lncRNAs in the initiation and progression of children cancer and discuss the potential of lncRNAs as biomarkers for early detection. We hope that this article will help researchers explore lncRNA functions and clinical applications in pediatric cancers.

Non-coding RNAs as potential biomarkers of gallbladder cancer

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) performs strongly invasive and poor prognosis, and adenocarcinoma is the most common histological type in it. Statistically, the 5-year survival rate of patients with advanced GBC is less than 5%. Such dismal outcome might be caused by chemotherapy resistance and native biology of tumor cells, regardless of emerging therapeutic strategies. Early diagnosis, depending on biomarkers, receptors and secretive proteins, is more important than clinical therapy, guiding the pathologic stage of cancer and the choice of medication. Therefore, it is in urgent need to understand the specific pathogenesis of GBC and strive to find promising novel biomarkers for early screening in GBC. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), are confirmed to participate in and regulate the occurrence and development of GBC. Exceptionally, lncRNAs and circRNAs could act as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) containing binding sites for miRNAs and crosstalk with miRNAs to target regulatory downstream protein-coding messenger RNAs (mRNAs), thus affecting the expression levels of specific proteins to participate in and regulate the development and progression of GBC. It follows that ncRNAs may become promising biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for GBC. In this review, we mainly summarize the recent research progress of miRNAs and lncRNAs in regulating the development and progression of GBC, chemoresistance, and predicting the prognosis of patients, and highlight the potential applications of the lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA cross-regulatory networks in early diagnosis, chemoresistance, and prognostic evaluation, aiming to better understand the pathogenesis of GBC and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.