MicroRNA-618 Directly Targets Metadherin mRNA To Suppress The Malignant Phenotype Of Osteosarcoma Cells By Reducing PTEN-AKT Pathway Output

Correlation between the miR-618 rs2682818 C>A polymorphism and venous malformation susceptibility

Venous malformations are the most common congenital vascular malformations, and the incidence rate is high. Previous studies have confirmed that a variety of polymorphisms within the miRNA functional region are associated with tumor susceptibility. We examined the correlation between miR-618 rs2682818 C>A and risk of developing venous malformation in a southern Chinese population (1113 patients and 1158 controls). TaqMan genotyping of miR-618 rs2682818 C>A was conducted utilizing real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. The miR-618 rs2682818 polymorphism was not correlated with susceptibility to venous malformation (CA/AA vs. CC: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.81-1.25, p = 0.994; AA vs. CC/CA: AOR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.73-1.65, p = 0.646). Stratified analysis of different subtypes of venous malformation revealed that there was no significant difference in the rs2682818 C>A polymorphism genotypes across these subtypes. Our results indicate that miR-618 rs2682818 C>A polymorphism is not correlated with the susceptibility to venous malformation.

A spotlight on the interplay of signaling pathways and the role of miRNAs in osteosarcoma pathogenesis and therapeutic resistance

Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most common bone cancers that constantly affects children, teenagers, and young adults. Numerous epigenetic elements, such as miRNAs, have been shown to influence OS features like progression, initiation, angiogenesis, and treatment resistance. The expression of numerous genes implicated in OS pathogenesis might be regulated by miRNAs. This effect is ascribed to miRNAs' roles in the invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis, proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis. Important OS-related mechanistic networks like the WNT/b-catenin signaling, PTEN/AKT/mTOR axis, and KRAS mutations are also affected by miRNAs. In addition to pathophysiology, miRNAs may influence how the OS reacts to therapies like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. With a focus on how miRNAs affect OS signaling pathways, this review seeks to show how miRNAs and OS are related.

MicroRNA-181a-5p Promotes Osteosarcoma Progression via PTEN/AKT Pathway

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents with poor prognosis. MicroRNA-181a-5p (miR-181a-5p) is involved in the progression of various tumors; however, its role and underlying mechanism in osteosarcoma remains unclear. In this study, we found that miR-181a-5p was upregulated in human osteosarcoma cells and tissues. miR-181a-5p mimic significantly promoted, while miR-181a-5p inhibitor blocked the proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle progression of osteosarcoma cells. Mechanistically, miR-181a-5p bound to the 3′-untranslational region of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and reduced its protein expression, thereby activating protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) pathway. Either PTEN overexpression or AKT inhibition notably blocked the tumor-promoting effects of miR-181a-5p. Moreover, we observed that miR-181a-5p mimic further inhibited growth of human osteosarcoma cells in the presence of adriamycin or cisplatin. Overall, miR-181a-5p promotes osteosarcoma progression via PTEN/AKT pathway and it is a promising therapeutic target to treat osteosarcoma.

EDDM3A drives gastric cancer progression by promoting HIF-1α-dependent aerobic glycolysis

Epididymal protein 3A (EDDM3A) is a protein involved in sperm maturation. It has been demonstrated that EDDM3A expression is upregulated and promotes cell proliferation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the role of EDDM3A in other types of human cancers, including gastric cancer (GC), is still unexplored. Here, we show that the expression of EDDM3A is significantly upregulated in gastric cancer (GC) tissues and its upregulation correlates with poorer survival in patients with gastric cancer. Knockdown of EDDM3A inhibited growth and metastasis of GC cells, whereas overexpression of EDDM3A exhibited the opposite effect. Mechanistically, enhanced aerobic glycolysis mediated by upregulation of HIF-1α and subsequently increased target glycolytic genes and decreased mitochondrial biogenesis was found to contribute to the promotion of tumor growth and metastasis by EDDM3A in GC cells. Additionally, upregulation of EDDM3A in GC is at least partially mediated by downregulation of miR-618. In conclusion, elevated EDDM3A plays a pivotal oncogenic role in gastric carcinogenesis, suggesting it as a potential therapeutic target for treatment of GC.

Cellular miR-150-5p may have a crucial role to play in the biology of SARS-CoV-2 infection by regulating nsp10 gene

The role for circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of the COVID-19 disease remains uncertain. We analysed the circulating miRNA profile in twelve COVID-19 patients with moderate-severe disease. This analysis was conducted by performing next generation sequencing (NGS) followed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Compared with healthy controls, we detected significant changes in the circulating miRNA profile of COVID-19 patients. The miRNAs that were significantly altered in all the COVID-19 patients were miR-150-5p, miR-375, miR-122-5p, miR-494-3p, miR-3197, miR-4690-5p, miR-1915-3p, and miR-3652. Infection assays performed using miRNA mimics in HEK-293 T cells determined miR-150-5p to have a crucial role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and this was based on the following data: (i) miR-150-5p mimic lowered in vitro SARS-CoV-2 infection; (ii) miR-150-5p inhibitor reversed the effects of miR-150-5p mimic on SARS-CoV-2 infection of cells; and (iii) a novel miRNA recognition element (MRE) was identified in the coding strand of SARS-CoV-2 nsp10, the expression of which could be inhibited by miR-150-5p mimic. Our findings identified crucial miRNA footprints in COVID-19 patients with moderate-severe disease. A combination of co-transfection and Western blotting experiments also determined the ability of miR-150-5p to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection via directly interacting with MRE in the coding strand of nsp10. Our investigation showed that a sharp decline in the miR-150-5p plasma levels in COVID-19 patients may support enhanced SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, this study provides insight into one possible mechanism by which COVID-19-induced changes to miR-150-5p levels may promote SARS-CoV-2 infection via modulating nsp10 expression.

Polymorphism rs2682818 participates in the progression of colorectal carcinoma via miR-618-TIMP1 regulatory axis

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has a high morbidity and mortality. Current studies have confirmed a variety of microRNA polymorphisms were associated with tumor susceptibility, however, the mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we were aimed to clarify how polymorphism rs2682818 participated in the progression of CRC. First of all, the differential expression of miR-618 was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in CRC patients with different genotypes of polymorphism rs2682818, including homozygous (TT) genotype, homozygous (GG) genotype and heterozygous (TG) genotype. Secondly, plasmids carried miR-168 precursor sequences harboring rs2682818 (SNP type) or without rs2682818 (wild type) were transfected into 293T cells to verify that polymorphism rs2682818 affected miR-618 expression. Thirdly, CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry assay, transwell assay and mouse xenograft assay were performed to measure the biological functions of miR-618 in CRC. Fourthly, the candidate target genes of miR-618 which were predicted by bioinformatics tools were verified by luciferase reporter assay. Finally, in order to explain the potential molecular mechanisms, western blotting was performed to demonstrate the differential expression and phosphorylation of pathway related proteins. The results showed that miR-618 was down-regulated in colon cancer, especially in CRC patients with rs2682818 GG homozygous genotype. Higher expression of mature miR-618 occurred in patients with TT homozygous genotype, and these patients usually had a longer survival time. Moreover, miR-618 mimic obviously impaired the growth and invasion ability of CRC cells, and miR-618 mimic also remarkably promoted CRC cell apoptosis. Our luciferase experiments confirmed that TIMP1 was a target of miR-618 in CRC cells. Knockdown of TIMP1 also significantly inhibited the malignant cytological features of CRC, including malignant growth and invasion as well as apoptosis resistance. In summary, polymorphism rs2682818 participated in the progression of CRC via affecting the expression of mature miR-618 in CRC cells, and miR-618 inhibited the progression of CRC via targeting TIMP1expression.

Metadherin-mediated mechanisms in human malignancies

Metadherin (MTDH) has been recognized as a novel protein that is critical for the progression of multiple types of human malignancies. Studies have reported that MTDH enhances the metastatic potential of cancer cells by regulating multiple signaling pathways. miRNAs and various tumor-related proteins have been shown to interact with MTDH, making it a potential therapeutic target as well as a biomarker in human malignancies. MTDH plays a critical role in inflammation, angiogenesis, hypoxia, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and autophagy. In this review, we present the function and mechanisms of MTDH for cancer initiation and progression.

Circulating miR-618 Has Prognostic Significance in Patients with Metastatic Colon Cancer

The present study evaluated the prognostic role of circulating miRNA-618 in patients with metastatic colon cancer (mCC) and whether miR-618 gene rs2682818 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) are associated with colon cancer susceptibility and expression levels of mature miR-618. In total, 104 patients with mCC before starting the chemotherapy were investigated. The expression status of circulating miR-618 in mCC was evaluated by quantitative PCR. TaqMan PCR assay was used for rs2682818 SNP genotyping. miR-618 was overexpressed in serum of mCC patients. Patients with high and intermediate expression of miR-618 had a significantly longer mean overall survival (OS) of 21 months than patients with low expression—16 months. In addition, multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed the association between high/intermediate levels of miRNA-618 and longer OS, HR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.30–0.86, p = 0.012. miR-618 rs2682818 SNP significantly decreased the risk of colon cancer susceptibility in both heterozygous codominant (AC vs. CC, OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.17–0.88, p = 0.024) and overdominant (AC vs. CC + AA, OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16–0.85, p = 0.018) genetic models. Our data suggest that circulating miRNA-618 could be useful as a prognostic biomarker in mCC. Patients harboring AC rs2682818 genotype have a decreased risk for colon cancer in comparison with patients with CC and AA genotypes.

Differential microRNA expression in the peripheral blood from human patients with COVID-19

INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which play important roles in regulating gene expression and are also considered as essential modulators during viral infection. The aim of this study was to elucidate the differential expression of miRNAs in COVID-19.

METHODS

The total RNA was extracted and purified from the peripheral blood of ten patients with COVID-19 and four healthy donors. The expression levels of various miRNAs were detected by high-throughput sequencing, and correlation analysis was performed on the target genes that are primed by miRNAs.

KEY FINDINGS

Compared with the healthy controls, 35 miRNAs were upregulated and 38 miRNAs were downregulated in the human patients with COVID-19. The top 10 genes were listed below: hsa-miR-16-2-3P,hsa-miR-5695,hsa-miR-10399-3P,hsa-miR-6501-5P,hsa-miR-361-3P,hsa-miR-361-3p, hsa-miR-4659a-3p, hsa-miR-142-5p, hsa-miR-4685-3p, hsa-miR-454-5p, and hsa-miR-30c-5p. The 10 genes with the greatest reduction were listed below: hsa-miR-183-5p, hsa-miR-627-5p, hsa-miR-941, hsa-miR-21-5p, hsa-miR-20a-5p, hsa-miR-146b-5p, hsa-miR-454-3p, hsa-miR-18a-5p, hsa-miR-340-5p, and hsa-miR-17-5p. Remarkably, miR-16-2-3p was the most upregulated miRNA, with a 1.6-fold change compared to that of the controls. Moreover, the expression of miR-6501-5p and miR-618 was 1.5-fold higher in the COVID-19 patients than in the healthy donors. Meanwhile, miR-627-5p was the most downregulated miRNA, with a 2.3-fold change compared to that of the controls. The expression of other miRNAs (miR-183-5p, miR-627-5p, and miR-144-3p) was reduced by more than 1.3-fold compared to that of the healthy donors. Cluster analysis revealed that all of the differentially expressed miRNA target genes were clustered by their regulation of cellular components, molecular functions, and biological processes. Importantly, peptidases, protein kinases, and the ubiquitin system were shown to be the highest enrichment categories by enrichment analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The differential miRNA expression found in COVID-19 patients may regulate the immune responses and viral replication during viral infection.