Exploring the Potential Key IncRNAs with Endometriosis by Construction of a ceRNA Network

LncRNA MSC-AS1 regulates SNIP1 SUMOylation-mediated EMT by binding to SENP1 to promote intestinal fibrosis in Crohn's disease

As a common complication of Crohn's disease (CD), the mechanism underlying CD intestinal fibrosis remains unclear. Studies have shown that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key step in the development of intestinal fibrosis in CD. It is currently known that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MSC-AS1 plays an important role in regulating the secretion of inflammatory mediators and EMT; however, its role in intestinal fibrosis remains unclear. MSC-AS1 was significantly upregulated in the CD intestinal tissue and intestinal tissue of mice treated with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. Downregulation of its expression can inhibit EMT and alleviates intestinal fibrosis by regulating SNIP1. In addition, MSC-AS1 directly interacted with SENP1, blocking the deSUMOylation of SNIP1 and inhibiting its activity. Furthermore, we found that SENP1 enhanced the expression of SNIP1 and reduced intestinal fibrosis. In summary, MSC-AS1 regulates EMT through the SENP1/SNIP1 axis to promote fibrosis, and may be considered a potential molecular target for the treatment of CD and intestinal fibrosis.

The landscape of non-coding RNAs in the immunopathogenesis of Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a complex disorder that is characterized by the abnormal growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus. It is associated with chronic inflammation, severe pelvic pain, infertility, and significantly reduced quality of life. Although the exact mechanism of endometriosis remains unknown, inflammation and altered immunity are considered key factors in the immunopathogenesis of the disorder. Disturbances of immune responses result in reduced clearance of regurgitated endometrial cells, which elicits oxidative stress and progression of inflammation. Proinflammatory mediators could affect immune cells' recruitment, fate, and function. Reciprocally, the activation of immune cells can promote inflammation. Aberrant expression of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) in patient and animal lesions could be suggestive of their role in endometriosis establishment. The engagement of these RNAs in regulating diverse biological processes, including inflammatory responses and activation of inflammasomes, altered immunity, cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis are widespread and far-reaching. Therefore, ncRNAs can be identified as a determining candidate regulating the inflammatory responses and immune system. This review aims in addition to predict the role of ncRNAs in the immunopathogenesis of endometriosis through regulating inflammation and altered immunity based on previous studies, it presents a comprehensive view of inflammation role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Upregulation of HTRA1 mediated by the lncRNA NEAT1/miR-141-3p axis contributes to endometriosis development through activating NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptotic cell death and cellular inflammation

The present study identified a novel upstream long chain non-coding (lncRNA) NEAT1/miR-141-3p/HTRA1 axis that regulated the activation of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome to modulate endometriosis (EM) development. Specifically, clinical data suggested that the expression of NLRP3 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD (ASC), the cleavage of caspase-1 and gasdermin D (GSDMD), and the production of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-18) were all significantly increased in the ectopic endometrium (EE) tissues, compared to the normal endometrium (NE) tissues. Then, through analyzing the datasets from GEO database (GSE2339, GSE58178, and GSE7305) using the GEO2R bioinformatics tools, we verified that HtrA Serine Peptidase 1 (HTRA1) was especially enriched in the EE tissues compared to the NE tissues. To further confirm the biological functions of HTRA1, HTRA1 was overexpressed or downregulated in primary human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs) isolated from NE tissues or EE tissues, respectively. The results showed that upregulation of HTRA1 activated NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptotic cell death and cellular inflammation in NE-derived hESCs, whereas silencing of HTRA1 played an opposite role in EE-derived hESCs. In addition, the lncRNA NEAT1/miR-141-3p axis was screened as the upstream regulator of HTRA1. Mechanistically, lncRNA NEAT1 sponged miR-141-3p to positively regulate HTRA1 in a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanisms-dependent manner. The recovery experiments in hESCs from NE and EE tissues confirmed that lncRNA NEAT1 overexpression promoted NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptotic cell death through regulating the miR-141-3p/HTRA1 axis. Taken together, this study firstly uncovered the underlying mechanisms by which a novel lncRNA NEAT1/miR-141-3p/HTRA1-NLRP3 pathway contributed to the development of EM, which provided novel diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for this disease.

The integrated comprehension of lncRNA HOXA-AS3 implication on human diseases

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a non-protein-coding RNA with a length of more than 200 nucleotides. Studies have shown that lncRNAs have vital impacts on various pathological processes and participate in the development of human diseases, usually through acting as competing endogenous RNAs to modulate miRNA expression and biological functions. lncRNA HOXA Cluster Antisense RNA 3 (HOXA-AS3) was a newly discovered lncRNA and has been demonstrated to be abnormally expressed in many diseases. Moreover, HOXA-AS3 expression was closely correlated with the clinicopathologic characteristics in cancer patients. In addition, HOXA-AS3 exhibited significant properties in regulating several biological processes, including cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Furthermore, HOXA-AS3 has provided promising values in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic strategies of several diseases such as liver cancer, glioma, lung cancer, oral cancer, gastric cancer, and even atherosclerosis. In this review, we discuss the abnormal expression of HOXA-AS3 in several human disorders and some pathobiological processes and its clinical characteristics, followed by a summary of HOXA-AS3 functions, regulatory mechanisms, and clinical application potential.

lncRNA AGAP2-AS1 Facilitates Tumorigenesis and Ferroptosis Resistance through SLC7A11 by IGF2BP2 Pathway in Melanoma

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) stand as indispensable regulators of initiation and development in melanoma (melanoma). However, the action molecular mechanisms linked to melanoma remain unclear. In the current study, the findings revealed that AGAP2-AS1 was considerably greater in melanoma than in healthy tissues and that the level of AGAP2-AS1 in cancer tissue was significantly linked to the cancerous TNM stage of patients. Individuals with high AGAP2-AS1 had a considerably shorter survival duration than patients with low AGAP2-AS1, regardless of progression-free survival or overall survival. Functionally, downregulating the expression of AGAP2-AS1 can inhibit the growth of melanocytes. Compared with the control group, AGAP2-AS1 knockdown increased Erastin-mediated iron death in melanoma cells. However, iron death inhibitor FERSINT-1 restored this effect, while Erastin induced melanoma cell death. Besides, intracellular iron and Fe2+ levels increased after AGAP2-AS1 knockdown in melanoma cells treated with Erastin compared with the si-NC group. In addition, AGAP2-AS1 silencing resulted in a significant decrease in glutathione (GSH) content in Erastin-treated melanoma cells. The mechanistic results suggest AGAP2-AS1 increases SLC7A11 mRNA stability through the IGF2BP2 pathway. In this investigation, we discovered new activities for AGAP2-AS1 and firstly discovered its mechanistic basis in ferroptosis and melanoma formation that might help in the search for potential therapy options in melanoma.

LncRNA BACE1-AS promotes the progression of osteosarcoma through miR-762/SOX7 axis

BACKGROUND

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare malignant primary tumor of mesenchymal origin affecting bone that occurs in adolescents and children. LncRNAs are important regulators of tumorigenesis and development. This study aimed to explore the role and molecular basis of LncRNA BACE1-AS (BACE1 antisense RNA) in OS.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Through the analysis of differential expressed lncRNAs in OS tissues by GEO database, LncRNA BACE1-AS display a remarkably lower expression. This found can also be observed in both OS tissues and cell lines by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, using Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell, wound healing and westernblot assays, overexpression LncRNA BACE1-AS remarkably reduce cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities in OS. In addition, LncRNA BACE1-AS is validated as a sponge of miR-762 through the prediction of lncRNASNP. Further, luciferase reporter and RIP assays are conducted to confirm the binding sites between LncRNA BACE1-AS and miR-762. SRY-box transcription factor 7 (SOX7) target to miR-762 and regulated by LncRNA BACE1-AS. Moreover, inhibition of miR-762 attenuate the role of sh-LncRNA BACE1-AS in OS cells, at meanwhile reduce the expression of SOX7.

CONCLUSION

In this study, LncRNA BACE1-AS regulates proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by miR-762/SOX7 axis, implying that LncRNA BACE1-AS is a potential target for osteosarcoma therapy.

Derivation, Comprehensive Analysis, and Assay Validation of a Pyroptosis-Related lncRNA Prognostic Signature in Patients With Ovarian Cancer

Background

Pyroptosis is regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in ovarian cancer (OC). Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related lncRNAs (PRLs) in OC is crucial for developing therapeutic strategies and survival prediction.

Methods

Based on public database raw data, mutations in the landscape of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) in patients with OC were investigated thoroughly. PRLs were identified by calculating Pearson correlation coefficients. Cox and LASSO regression analyses were performed on PRLs to screen for lncRNAs participating in the risk signature. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, decision curve analysis (DCA) curves, and calibration curves were used to confirm the clinical benefits. To assess the ability of the risk signature to independently predict prognosis, it was included in a Cox regression analysis with clinicopathological parameters. Two nomograms were constructed to facilitate clinical application. In addition, potential biological functions of the risk signature were investigated using gene function annotation. Subsequently, immune-related landscapes and BRCA1/2 mutations were compared in different risk groups using diverse bioinformatics algorithms. Finally, we conducted a meta-analysis and in-vitro assays on alternative lncRNAs.

Results

A total of 374 patients with OC were randomized into training and validation cohorts (7:3). A total of 250 PRLs were selected from all the lncRNAs. Subsequently, a risk signature (DICER1-AS1, MIR600HG, AC083880.1, AC109322.1, AC007991.4, IL6R-AS1, AL365361.1, and AC022098.2) was constructed to distinguish the risk of patient survival. The ROC curve, K-M analysis, DCA curve, and calibration curve indicated excellent predictive performance for determining overall survival (OS) based on the risk signature in each cohort (p < 0.05). The Cox regression analysis indicated that the risk signature was an independent prognostic factor for OS (p < 0.05). Moreover, significant differences in the immune response and BRCA1 mutations were identified in different groups distinguished by the risk signature (p < 0.05). Interestingly, in-vitro assays showed that an alternative lncRNA (DICER1-AS1) could promote OC cell proliferation.

Conclusion

The PRL risk signature could independently predict overall survival and guide treatment in patients with OC.

Epigenetic Biomarkers Screening of Non-Coding RNA and DNA Methylation Based on Peripheral Blood Monocytes in Smokers

This study aims to use bioinformatics methods to determine the epigenetic changes in microRNA expression and DNA methylation caused by cigarette smoking. The data of mRNA, miRNA expression, and methylation microarray were obtained from the GEO database to filter differentially expressed genes (DEGs), differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs), and methylated CpG probes (DMPs) through the limma package. The R clusterProfile package was used for functional annotation and enrichment analysis. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by the String database and visualized in Cytoscape software. Starbase database was employed to predict lncRNA and CirRNA based on the sequence of miRNA, and to establish a regulatory network of ceRNA. By overlapping DEG and DEM, 107 down-miRNA-targeted up-regulated genes and 65 up-miRNA-target down-regulated genes were obtained, which were mainly enriched in autophagy signaling pathways and protein ubiquitination pathways, respectively. In addition, 324 genes with low methylation and high expression and 204 genes with high methylation and low expression were respectively related to the degeneration of the nervous system and the function of the cardiovascular system. Interestingly, 43 genes were up-regulated under the dual regulation of reduced miRNA and hypomethylation, while 14 genes were down-regulated under the dual regulation of increased miRNA and hypermethylation. Ten chemicals have been identified as putative therapeutic agents for pathological conditions caused by smoking. In addition, among these genes, HSPA4, GRB2, PRKCA, and BCL2L1 could play a fundamental role in related diseases caused by smoking and may be used as the biomarkers for precise diagnosis and targets for future therapies of smoking-related diseases.