Up-regulated LncRNA-ATB regulates the growth and metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma via miR-200c signals

Unlocking melanoma Suppression: Insights from Plasma-Induced potent miRNAs through PI3K-AKT-ZEB1 axis

INTRODUCTION

Melanoma is a rare but highly malignant form of skin cancer. Although recent targeted and immune-based therapies have improved survival rates by 10-15%, effective melanoma treatment remains challenging. Therefore, novel, combinatorial therapy options such as non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTP) are being investigated to inhibit and prevent chemoresistance. Although several studies have reported the apoptotic and inhibitory effects of reactive oxygen species produced by NTP in the context of melanoma, the intricate molecular network that determines the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating NTP-mediated cell death remains unexplored.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms and miRNA networks regulated by NTP-induced oxidative stress in melanoma cells.

METHODS

Melanoma cells were exposed to NTP and then subjected to high-throughput miRNA sequencing to identify NTP-regulated miRNAs. Various biological processes and underlying molecular mechanisms were assessed using Alamar Blue, propidium iodide (PI) uptake, cell migration, and clonogenic assays followed by qRT-PCR and flow cytometry.

RESULTS

NTP exposure for 3 min was sufficient to modulate the expression of several miRNAs, inhibiting cell growth. Persistent NTP exposure for 5 min increased differential miRNA regulation, PI uptake, and the expression of genes involved in cell cycle arrest and death. qPCR confirmed that miR-200b-3p and miR-215-5p upregulation contributed to decreased cell viability and migration. Mechanistically, inhibiting miR-200b-3p and miR-215-5p in SK-2 cells enhancedZEB1, PI3K, and AKT expression, increasing cell proliferation and viability.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that NTP exposure for 5 min results in the differential regulation of miRNAs related to the PI3K-AKT-ZEB1 axis and cell cycle dysregulation to facilitate melanoma suppression.

TGFβ-induced long non-coding RNA LINC00313 activates Wnt signaling and promotes cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma is a devastating liver cancer characterized by high aggressiveness and therapy resistance, resulting in poor prognosis. Long non-coding RNAs and signals imposed by oncogenic pathways, such as transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), frequently contribute to cholangiocarcinogenesis. Here, we explore novel effectors of TGFβ signalling in cholangiocarcinoma. LINC00313 is identified as a novel TGFβ target gene. Gene expression and genome-wide chromatin accessibility profiling reveal that nuclear LINC00313 transcriptionally regulates genes involved in Wnt signalling, such as the transcriptional activator TCF7. LINC00313 gain-of-function enhances TCF/LEF-dependent transcription, promotes colony formation in vitro and accelerates tumour growth in vivo. Genes affected by LINC00313 over-expression in CCA tumours are associated with KRAS and TP53 mutations and reduce overall patient survival. Mechanistically, ACTL6A and BRG1, subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complex, interact with LINC00313 and affect TCF7 and SULF2 transcription. We propose a model whereby TGFβ induces LINC00313 in order to regulate the expression of hallmark Wnt pathway genes, in co-operation with SWI/SNF. By modulating key genes of the Wnt pathway, LINC00313 fine-tunes Wnt/TCF/LEF-dependent transcriptional responses and promotes cholangiocarcinogenesis.

A review on the role of ncRNAs in the pathogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare tumor but a challenging cancer in terms of pathological changes, clinical manifestations and therapeutic options. Recent studies have provided evidence for participation of non-coding RNAs in the carcinogenic process of cholangiocarcinoma. We demonstrate the role of long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs and circular RNAs in the pathogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma and highlight their significant position as therapeutic targets and biomarkers for this type of cancer. We also list a number of molecular axes comprising these non-coding RNAs that represent potential targets for therapeutic options in cholangiocarcinoma, based on their significant roles in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of these cells.

The function of LncRNA-ATB in cancer

Cancer as a progressive and complex disease is caused by early chromosomal changes and stimulated cellular transformation. Previous studies reported that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play pivotal roles in the initiation, maintenance, and progression of cancer cells. LncRNA activated by TGF-β (ATB) has been shown to be dysregulated in different types of cancer. Aberrant expression of lncRNA-ATB plays an important role in the progression of diverse malignancies. High expression of LncRNA-ATB is associated with cancer cell growth, proliferation, metastasis, and EMT. LncRNA-ATB by targeting various signaling pathways and microRNAs (miRNAs) can trigger cancer pathogenesis. Therefore, lncRNA-ATB can be a novel target for cancer prediction and diagnosis. In this review, we will focus on the function of lncRNA-ATB in various types of human cancers.

Xiaotan Sanjie Decoction Inhibits Gastric Cancer Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion through lncRNA-ATB and miR-200A

This study is aimed at exploring whether Xiaotan Sanjie decoction (XTSJ) inhibits gastric cancer (GC) proliferation and metastasis by regulating lncRNA-ATB expression. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to analyze lncRNA-ATB and downstream-regulated genes/proteins in human GC cells. CCK8, Edu, and flow cytometry assays were used to detect the inhibitory effect of XTSJ on cell proliferation and apoptosis. Moreover, transwell and wound healing assays were used to detect the inhibitory effect of XTSJ on migration and invasion. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect regulated genes and proteins levels. The HGC-27 cell line was used for follow-up analysis due to the high level of lncRNA-ATB and cell characteristics. XTSJ inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of HGC-27 in a dose-dependent manner. Further research found that XTSJ downregulated lncRNA-ATB, Vimentin, and N-cadherin, while it upregulated miR-200a and E-cadherin in a dose-dependent manner. XTSJ also upregulated Caspase 3, Caspase 9, Bax, and downregulated Bcl-2. Furthermore, XTSJ inhibited tumor growth in vivo and downregulated EMT signaling pathways. These results indicate that XTSJ may affect EMT and Bcl-2 signaling pathways by regulating lncRNA-ATB and miR-200a, thus inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasion of HGC-27 cells. Therefore, XTSJ may be an effective treatment for the high levels of lncRNA-ATB in GC.

Potential of the miR-200 Family as a Target for Developing Anti-Cancer Therapeutics

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (18–24 nucleotides) that play significant roles in cell proliferation, development, invasion, cancer development, cancer progression, and anti-cancer drug resistance. miRNAs target multiple genes and play diverse roles. miRNAs can bind to the 3′UTR of target genes and inhibit translation or promote the degradation of target genes. miR-200 family miRNAs mostly act as tumor suppressors and are commonly decreased in cancer. The miR-200 family has been reported as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker. This review discusses the clinical value of the miR-200 family, focusing on the role of the miR-200 family in the development of cancer and anti-cancer drug resistance. This review also provides an overview of the factors that regulate the expression of the miR-200 family, targets of miR-200 family miRNAs, and the mechanism of anti-cancer drug resistance regulated by the miR-200 family.

Long Non-coding RNA FOXD2-AS1 Promotes Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion in Cholangiocarcinoma Through Regulating miR-760/E2F3 Axis

BACKGROUND

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has been testified to influence the initiation and evolution of sundry carcinomas. Recently, lncRNA FOXD2 adjacent opposite strand RNA 1 (FOXD2-AS1) has been found to display vital regulating functions in various cancers.

METHODS

qRT-PCR was used to verify the dysregulation of FOXD2-AS1 expression in CCA cells and tissues, and the correlation of FOXD2-AS1 expression with clinicopathological characteristics was investigated. The viability, migration, and invasion of CCA cells were verified through CCK-8 assay, colony formation experiment, wound healing assay, and transwell assay. The regulatory networks of FOXD2-AS1 were analyzed by Bioinformatic prediction and dual-luciferase reporter assay.

RESULTS

We discovered that FOXD2-AS1 was significantly upregulated in CCA and its up-regulation was closely correlated with terminal TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and poor survival in the current research. In addition, it was revealed that FOXD2-AS1 was an independent prognostic factor. Functional tests uncovered that the cell viability, migration, and invasion could be restrained through downregulating the expression of FOXD2-AS1, while FOXD2-AS1 overexpression could facilitate the cell viability, migration, and invasion. Mechanistically, FOXD2-AS1 was founded to interact directly with miR-760 and the oncogene E2F3 was the downstream target of miR-760 through bioinformatic prediction and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Finally, we testified that FOXD2-AS1 could competitively sponge miR-760 and further upregulated the E2F3 expression to play a vital part in cholangiocarcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

This research revealed that lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 could enhance CCA malignant progression through regulating the miR-760/E2F3 axis and was expected to be a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for cholangiocarcinoma.

Long non-coding RNA LINC00958 promotes colorectal cancer progression by enhancing the expression of LEM domain containing 1 via microRNA miR-3064-5p

Colorectal cancer is a common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Thus, there is an urgent need to determine the mechanism of progression of colorectal cancer. In this study, we investigated the function and mechanism of long non-coding RNA LINC00958, providing a new biomarker for colorectal cancer. The expression of LINC00958, miR-3064-5p, and LEM domain containing 1 (LEMD1) in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines was analyzed using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The interaction between LINC00958, miR-3064-5p, and LEMD1 was assessed using the luciferase assay. The viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells with silenced LINC00958, miR-3064-5p, and LEMD1 were investigated using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), 5′-Bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU), flow cytometry, wound healing, and transwell assays. Phosphorylated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (p-PI3K) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT) protein levels were measured by western blotting. LINC00958 and LEMD1 were found to have increased, while the expression of miR-3064-5p was decreased in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. Silencing of LINC00958 hampered cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion, while enhancing the apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. Notably, LINC00958 inhibited miR-3064-5p and promoted LEMD1; the miR-3064-5p inhibitor abrogated the effect of LINC00958 silencing in colorectal cancer cells. Additionally, LEMD1 knockdown inhibited the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling. Our analyses have shown that LINC00958 could facilitate the progression of colorectal cancer by sponging miR-3064-5p and releasing LEMD1, leading to the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Thus, LINC00958 may be considered as an effective biomarker for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

LncRNA-ATB regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition progression in pulmonary fibrosis via sponging miR-29b-2-5p and miR-34c-3p

Dysregulation of non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been proved to play pivotal roles in epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and fibrosis. We have previously demonstrated the crucial function of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) ATB in silica‐induced pulmonary fibrosis‐related EMT progression. However, the underlying molecular mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Here, we verified miR‐29b‐2‐5p and miR‐34c‐3p as two vital downstream targets of lncRNA‐ATB. As opposed to lncRNA‐ATB, a significant reduction of both miR‐29b‐2‐5p and miR‐34c‐3p was observed in lung epithelial cells treated with TGF‐β1 and a murine silicosis model. Overexpression miR‐29b‐2‐5p or miR‐34c‐3p inhibited EMT process and abrogated the pro‐fibrotic effects of lncRNA‐ATB in vitro. Further, the ectopic expression of miR‐29b‐2‐5p and miR‐34c‐3p with chemotherapy attenuated silica‐induced pulmonary fibrosis in vivo. Mechanistically, TGF‐β1‐induced lncRNA‐ATB accelerated EMT as a sponge of miR‐29b‐2‐5p and miR‐34c‐3p and shared miRNA response elements with MEKK2 and NOTCH2, thus relieving these two molecules from miRNA‐mediated translational repression. Interestingly, the co‐transfection of miR‐29b‐2‐5p and miR‐34c‐3p showed a synergistic suppression effect on EMT in vitro. Furthermore, the co‐expression of these two miRNAs by using adeno‐associated virus (AAV) better alleviated silica‐induced fibrogenesis than single miRNA. Approaches aiming at lncRNA‐ATB and its downstream effectors may represent new effective therapeutic strategies in pulmonary fibrosis.

Differential expression and role of miR-200 family in multiple tumors

microRNA (miRNA) can maintain the homeostasis of the human by participating in the regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and metabolism. During the entire stage of tumorigenesis, miRNA can maintain the heterogeneity of cancer stem cells by regulating the formation and metastasis of the tumor, which leads to chemotherapy resistance. miR-200 family consists of five members, which can regulate the proliferation, invasion, and migration of cancer cells by inhibiting the transcription of downstream genes (including zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 and 2, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, transforming growth factor-β, and cancer stem cell related-proteins). Meanwhile, Long non-coding RNA can bind to miR-200s to regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of cancer cells. Besides, the expression of the miR-200 family can affect the mechanism of chemotherapy resistance.

Crosstalk of long non-coding RNAs and EMT: Searching the missing pieces of an incomplete puzzle for lung cancer therapy

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is considered to be the first place among the cancer-related deaths worldwide and demands novel strategies in the treatment of this life-threatening disorder. The aim of this review is to explore regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION

LncRNAs can be considered as potential factors for targeting in cancer therapy, since they regulate a bunch of biological processes, e.g. cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The abnormal expression of lncRNAs occurs in different cancer cells. On the other hand, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical mechanism participating in migration and metastasis of cancer cells.

METHOD

Different databases including Googlescholar, Pubmed and Sciencedirect were used for collecting articles using keywords such as "LncRNA", "EMT", and "Lung cancer".

RESULT

There are tumor-suppressing lncRNAs that can suppress EMT and metastasis of lung cancer cells. Expression of such lncRNAs undergoes down-regulation in lung cancer progression and restoring their expression is of importance in suppressing lung cancer migration. There are tumor-promoting lncRNAs triggering EMT in lung cancer and enhancing their migration.

CONCLUSION

LncRNAs are potential regulators of EMT in lung cancer, and targeting them, both pharmacologically and genetically, can be of importance in controlling migration of lung cancer cells.

Long noncoding RNA ATB promotes ovarian cancer tumorigenesis by mediating histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation through binding to EZH2

Ovarian cancer (OC) remains one of the most lethal gynecological malignancies. The unfavourable prognosis is mainly due to the lack of early‐stage diagnosis, drug resistance and recurrence. Therefore, it needs to investigate the mechanism of OC tumorigenesis and identify effective biomarkers for the clinical diagnosis. It is reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles during the tumorigenesis of OC. Therefore, the present study aimed to study the role and clinical significance of LncRNAs ATB (lnc‐ATB) in the development and progression of OC. In our research, lnc‐ATB expression in OC tissues was elevated compared with adjacent normal tissues and high expression of lnc‐ATB was associated with poor outcomes of OC patients. The silencing of lnc‐ATB blocked cell proliferation, invasion and migration in SKOV3 and A2780 cells. RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull‐down results showed that lnc‐ATB positively regulated the expression of EZH2 via directly interacting with EZH2. Besides, the overexpression of EZH2 partly rescued lnc‐ATB silencing‐inducing inhibition of cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay results demonstrated that the silencing of lnc‐ATB reduced the occupancy of caudal‐related homeobox protein 1, Forkhead box C1, Large tumour suppressor kinase 2, cadherin‐1 and disabled homolog 2 interacting protein promoters on EZH2 and H3K27me3. These data revealed the oncogenic of lnc‐ATB and provided a novel biomarker for OC diagnosis. Furthermore, these findings indicated the mechanism of lnc‐ATB functioning in the progression of OC, which provided a new target for OC therapy.

A Novel Approach to Assessing Differentiation Degree and Lymph Node Metastasis of Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Prediction Using a Radiomics-Based Particle Swarm Optimization and Support Vector Machine Model

BACKGROUND

Radiomics can improve the accuracy of traditional image diagnosis to evaluate extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC); however, this is limited by variations across radiologists, subjective evaluation, and restricted data. A radiomics-based particle swarm optimization and support vector machine (PSO-SVM) model may provide a more accurate auxiliary diagnosis for assessing differentiation degree (DD) and lymph node metastasis (LNM) of ECC.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of our study is to develop a PSO-SVM radiomics model for predicting DD and LNM of ECC.

METHODS

For this retrospective study, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of 110 patients with ECC who were diagnosed from January 2011 to October 2019 were used to construct a radiomics prediction model. Radiomics features were extracted from T1-precontrast weighted imaging (T1WI), T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) using MaZda software (version 4.6; Institute of Electronics, Technical University of Lodz). We performed dimension reduction to obtain 30 optimal features of each sequence, respectively. A PSO-SVM radiomics model was developed to predict DD and LNM of ECC by incorporating radiomics features and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. We randomly divided the 110 cases into a training group (88/110, 80%) and a testing group (22/110, 20%). The performance of the model was evaluated by analyzing the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

RESULTS

A radiomics model based on PSO-SVM was developed by using 110 patients with ECC. This model produced average AUCs of 0.8905 and 0.8461, respectively, for DD in the training and testing groups of patients with ECC. The average AUCs of the LNM in the training and testing groups of patients with ECC were 0.9036 and 0.8889, respectively. For the 110 patients, this model has high predictive performance. The average accuracy values of the training group and testing group for DD of ECC were 82.6% and 80.9%, respectively; the average accuracy values of the training group and testing group for LNM of ECC were 83.6% and 81.2%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The MRI-based PSO-SVM radiomics model might be useful for auxiliary clinical diagnosis and decision-making, which has a good potential for clinical application for DD and LNM of ECC.

MicroRNAs and Their Influence on the ZEB Family: Mechanistic Aspects and Therapeutic Applications in Cancer Therapy

Molecular signaling pathways involved in cancer have been intensively studied due to their crucial role in cancer cell growth and dissemination. Among them, zinc finger E-box binding homeobox-1 (ZEB1) and -2 (ZEB2) are molecules that play vital roles in signaling pathways to ensure the survival of tumor cells, particularly through enhancing cell proliferation, promoting cell migration and invasion, and triggering drug resistance. Importantly, ZEB proteins are regulated by microRNAs (miRs). In this review, we demonstrate the impact that miRs have on cancer therapy, through their targeting of ZEB proteins. MiRs are able to act as onco-suppressor factors and inhibit the malignancy of tumor cells through ZEB1/2 down-regulation. This can lead to an inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) mechanism, therefore reducing metastasis. Additionally, miRs are able to inhibit ZEB1/2-mediated drug resistance and immunosuppression. Additionally, we explore the upstream modulators of miRs such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), as these regulators can influence the inhibitory effect of miRs on ZEB proteins and cancer progression.

LncRNA-ATB in cancers: what do we know so far?

Cancer-related deaths did not apparently decrease in the past decades despite aggressive treatments. It's reported that cancer will become the leading cause of death worldwide in the twenty-first century. Increasing evidence has revealed that lncRNAs will emerge as promising cancer biomarkers or therapeutic targets in cancer treatment. LncRNA-ATB, a long noncoding RNA activated by TGF-β, was found to be abnormally expressed in certain cancers and participate in the development and progression of tumors. In addition, aberrant lncRNA-ATB expression was also associated with clinical characteristics of tumors. The purpose of this review is to summarize functions and underlying mechanisms of lncRNA-ATB in tumors, and discuss whether lncRNA-ATB can be a biomarker and therapeutic target in cancers.

Cholangiocarcinoma: novel therapeutic targets

Introduction: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a liver cancer derived from the biliary tree with a less than 30% five-year survival rate. Early diagnosis of CCA is challenging and treatment options are limited. Some CCA patients have genetic mutations and several therapeutic drugs or antibodies have been introduced to target abnormally expressed proteins. However, CCA is heterogeneous and patients often present with drug resistance which is attributed to multiple mutations or other factors. Novel approaches and methodologies for CCA treatments are in demand.Area covered: This review summarizes current approaches for CCA treatments leading to the development of novel therapeutic drugs or tools for human CCA patients. A literature search was conducted in PubMed utilizing the combination of the searched term 'cholangiocarcinoma' with other keywords such as 'miRNA', 'FGFR', 'immunotherapy' or 'microenvironment'. Papers published within 2015-2019 were obtained for reading.Expert opinion: Preclinical studies have demonstrated promising therapeutic approaches that target various cells or pathways. Recent studies have revealed that hepatic cells coordinate to promote CCA tumor progression in the tumor microenvironment, which may be a new therapeutic target. Although further studies are required, novel therapeutic tools such as extracellular vesicles could be utilized to manage CCA and its microenvironment.

Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Therapeutic Value of Non-Coding RNA Expression Profiles in Renal Transplantation

End-stage renal disease is a public health problem responsible for millions of deaths worldwide each year. Although transplantation is the preferred treatment for patients in need of renal replacement therapy, long-term allograft survival remains challenging. Advances in high-throughput methods for large-scale molecular data generation and computational analysis are promising to overcome the current limitations posed by conventional diagnostic and disease classifications post-transplantation. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are RNA molecules that, despite lacking protein-coding potential, are essential in the regulation of epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-translational mechanisms involved in both health and disease. A large body of evidence suggests that ncRNAs can act as biomarkers of renal injury and graft loss after transplantation. Hence, the focus of this review is to discuss the existing molecular signatures of non-coding transcripts and their value to improve diagnosis, predict the risk of rejection, and guide therapeutic choices post-transplantation.