Long Noncoding RNA ST7-AS1 Upregulates TRPM7 Expression by Sponging microRNA-543 to Promote Cervical Cancer Progression

MicroRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs and gynecological cancers: focus on metastasis

Gynecologic cancer is a significant cause of death in women worldwide, with cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer being among the most well-known types. The initiation and progression of gynecologic cancers involve a variety of biological functions, including angiogenesis and metastasis-given that death mostly occurs from metastatic tumors that have invaded the surrounding tissues. Therefore, understanding the molecular pathways underlying gynecologic cancer metastasis is critical for enhancing patient survival and outcomes. Recent research has revealed the contribution of numerous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) to metastasis and invasion of gynecologic cancer by affecting specific cellular pathways. This review focuses on three types of gynecologic cancer (ovarian, endometrial, and cervical) and three kinds of ncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, and circular RNAs). We summarize the detailed role of non-coding RNAs in the different pathways and molecular interactions involved in the invasion and metastasis of these cancers.

Ion Channels and Personalized Medicine in Gynecological Cancers

Targeted therapy against cancer plays a key role in delivering safer and more efficient treatments. In the last decades, ion channels have been studied for their participation in oncogenic processes because their aberrant expression and/or function have been associated with different types of malignancies, including ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancer. The altered expression or function of several ion channels have been associated with tumor aggressiveness, increased proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells and with poor prognosis in gynecological cancer patients. Most ion channels are integral membrane proteins easily accessible by drugs. Interestingly, a plethora of ion channel blockers have demonstrated anticancer activity. Consequently, some ion channels have been proposed as oncogenes, cancer, and prognostic biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets in gynecological cancers. Here, we review the association of ion channels with the properties of cancer cells in these tumors, which makes them very promising candidates to be exploited in personalized medicine. The detailed analysis of the expression pattern and function of ion channels could help to improve the clinical outcomes in gynecological cancer patients.

Advances in epigenetic modifications and cervical cancer research

Cervical cancer (CC) is an important public health problem for women, and perspectives and information regarding its prevention and treatment are quickly evolving. Human papilloma virus (HPV) has been recognized as a major contributor to CC development; however, HPV infection is not the only cause of CC. Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression levels caused by non-gene sequence changes. Growing evidence suggests that the disruption of gene expression patterns which were governed by epigenetic modifications can result in cancer, autoimmune diseases, and various other maladies. This article mainly reviews the current research status of epigenetic modifications in CC based on four aspects, respectively DNA methylation, histone modification, noncoding RNA regulation and chromatin regulation, and we also discuss their functions and molecular mechanisms in the occurrence and progression of CC. This review provides new ideas for early screening, risk assessment, molecular targeted therapy and prognostic prediction of CC.

Overexpression of ST7-AS1 Enhances Apoptosis and Inhibits Proliferation of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Cells Via microRNA-181b-5p-Dependent Inhibition Tripartite Motif Containing 3

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are of great significance in the pathogenesis and progression of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). LncRNA tumorigenicity 7 antisense RNA 1 (ST7-AS1) is a newly identified lncRNA serving as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in different tumors; however, the role of ST7-AS1 in PTC remains completely unknown. In this study, ST7-AS1 was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of PTC cells and presented reduced expression in THCA tumors and PTC cell lines. Functional experiments revealed that overexpressed ST7-AS1 inhibited the viability and proliferation of PTC cells, whereas accelerated the apoptosis of PTC cells. The expression of miR-181b-5p was upregulated and it bound with ST7-AS1 in PTC cells. Moreover, TRIM3 exhibited downregulated expression level in PTC cells and ST7-AS1 elevated TRIM3 expression via harboring miR-181b-5p. Rescue experiments illuminated that knockdown of TRIM3 reversed ST7-AS1 overexpression-induced promotion on PTC cell proliferation and suppression on PTC cell apoptosis. Overall, overexpression of ST7-AS1 enhances apoptosis and represses proliferation of PTC cells via targeting the miR-181b-5p/TRIM3 axis, which may help broaden the horizon and establish the foundation to develop therapeutic strategies for PTC in the future.

A pan-cancer-bioinformatic-based literature review of TRPM7 in cancers

TRPM7, a divalent cation-selective channel with kinase domains, has been widely reported to potentially affect cancers. In this study, we conducted multiple bioinformatic analyses based on open databases and reviewed articles that provided evidence for the effects of TRPM7 on cancers. The purposes of this paper are 1) to provide a pan-cancer overview of TRPM7 in cancers; 2) to summarize evidence of TRPM7 effects on cancers; 3) to identify potential future studies of TRPM7 in cancer. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that no cancer-related TRPM7 mutation was found. TRPM7 is aberrantly expressed in most cancer types but the cancer-noncancer expression pattern varies across cancer types. TRPM7 was not associated with survival, TMB, or cancer stemness in most cancer types. TRPM7 affected drug sensitivity and tumor immunity in some cancer types. The in vitro evidence, preclinical in vivo evidence, and clinical evidence for TRPM7 effects on cancers as well as TRPM7 kinase substrate and TRPM7-targeting drugs associated with cancers were summarized to facilitate comparison. We matched the bioinformatics evidence to literature evidence, thereby unveiling potential avenues for future investigation of TRPM7 in cancers. We believe that this paper will help orient research toward important and relevant aspects of the role of TRPM7 in cancers.

Recent Developments on the Roles of Calcium Signals and Potential Therapy Targets in Cervical Cancer

Intracellular calcium (Ca²⁺) concentration ([Ca²⁺]i) is implicated in proliferation, invasion, and metastasis in cancerous tissues. A variety of oncologic therapies and some candidate drugs induce their antitumor effects (in part or in whole) through the modulation of [Ca²⁺]i. Cervical cancer is one of most common cancers among women worldwide. Recently, major research advances relating to the Ca²⁺ signals in cervical cancer are emerging. In this review, we comprehensively describe the current progress concerning the roles of Ca²⁺ signals in the occurrence, development, and prognosis of cervical cancer. It will enhance our understanding of the causative mechanism of Ca²⁺ signals in cervical cancer and thus provide new sights for identifying potential therapeutic targets for drug discovery.

CAF-derived midkine promotes EMT and cisplatin resistance by upregulating lncRNA ST7-AS1 in gastric cancer

This study aimed to investigate the role of cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-derived midkine (MK) in cisplatin (DDP) resistance. The primary cultures of CAFs and non-cancer fibroblasts (NFs) were isolated and purified. The DDP-resistant gastric cancer (GC) cells were cultured with CAF-conditioned medium. QRT-PCR and Elisa assays were employed to determine MK expression. The expression of ST7-AS1 was measured by qRT-PCR. The impact of CAFs, MK, and ST7-AS1 silencing on DDP resistance was determined by MTT and Annexin V/PI staining assay. Expression of EMT markers and PI3K/AKT was determined by Western blot and qRT-PCR. The role of MK in DDP resistance was confirmed in a xenograft model. Incubation with CAF-conditioned medium increased the IC50 to DDP. Also, incubation with CAF-conditioned medium increased cell viability, reduced cell apoptosis, and promoted EMT in DDP-resistant GC cells, which were all blocked with MK neutralization antibody treatment. MK increased the DDP resistance and upregulated the expression of ST7-AS1 in DDP-resistant GC cells. Additionally, ST7-AS1 knockdown increased the sensitivity to DDP by inhibiting EMT. Moreover, ST7-AS1 knockdown significantly decreased the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT, and suppressed EMT, which were restored by MK addition. Finally, MK promoted tumor growth and DDP resistance in a mice model bearing the SGC-7901/DDP xenografts. CAF-derived MK promotes EMT-mediated DDP resistance via upregulation of ST7-AS1 and activation of PI3K/AKT pathway.

Autophagy related long non-coding RNA and breast cancer prognosis analysis and prognostic risk model establishment

Background

The role of autophagy-related long-stranded non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in breast cancer (BRCA) is unclear. We proposed to screen autophagy-related lncRNAs in BRCA and construct a prognostic risk assessment model to explore prognostic correlates.

Methods

We extracted BRCA lncRNAs from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and autophagy-related genes from the Human Autophagy Database (HADb), to screen for autophagy-related lncRNA pairs (ARLP) in BRCA. Single-factor Cox regression analysis and multi-factor Cox regression analysis were used to screen lncRNAs associated with BRCA prognosis, and risk models were established. We divided BRCA patients into high-risk and low-risk groups based on median risk scores. The single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm was used to calculate the abundance of 28 immune cells in the TCGA-BRCA cohort and to analyze the relationship between the risk score and the level of immune cell infiltration by ARLP characteristics.

Results

Univariate Cox regression results showed that 42 ARLPs were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) in BRCA patients. Further multifactorial analysis showed that a total of 11 lncRNAs, including SEMA3B-AS1, ST7-AS1, AL136295.7, AC090912.1, LINC01871, AL136531.1, AC024361.1, OTUD6B-AS1, LINC01786, AL122010.1, and MAPT-AS1, were prognostically independent influencers of BRCA. The risk model developed was further validated as a new independent prognostic factor for BRCA patients by Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis to calculate the risk score. In addition, the results of the relationship between risk score and immune infiltration showed that low risk score was associated with T-lymphocyte subpopulation.

Conclusions

Our study suggested that a risk model consisting of 11 autophagy-related lncRNAs can be used to assess the prognosis of BRCA patients.

Identification of Hub lncRNAs Along With lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA Network for Effective Diagnosis and Prognosis of Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in tumorigenesis and progression of different cancers and they have been potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. As the most common endocrine malignancy, precise diagnosis and prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is of great clinical significance. Here, we aim to identify new hub lncRNAs for marking PTC and constructed prognostics signatures based on lncRNA- miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) network to predict overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) respectively. Five reliable hub lncRNAs were identified by integrating differential genes of four Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) gene chips using the RobustRankAggreg (RRA) method. Based on differential analyses and interaction prediction, a lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network and a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network were established. Then a comprehensive function characterization of the five hub lncRNAs was performed, including validation dataset testing, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and functional analysis on two networks. All results suggest that these five hub lncRNAs could be potential biomarkers for marking PTC. The ceRNA network was used to identify RNAs which were associated with PTC prognosis. Two prognostic signatures were developed using univariate and step-wise multivariate Cox regression analyses and both of them were independent prognostic indicators for PTC OS and DFS. Tumor microenvironment difference analysis between high and low-risk patients showed that dendritic cells activated and macrophages M0 may be a possible target for immunotherapy of PTC. In addition, disclosing the potential drugs that may reverse the expression of hub genes may improve the prognosis of patients with PTC. Here, connectivity map (CMap) analysis indicates that three bioactive chemicals (pioglitazone, benserazide, and SB-203580) are promising therapeutic agents for PTC. So, the paper presents a comprehensive study on diagnosis, prognosis, and potential drug screening for PTC based on the five hub lncRNAs identified by us.

Comprehensive analysis of ceRNA networks in HPV16- and HPV18-mediated cervical cancers reveals XIST as a pivotal competing endogenous RNA

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide, being closely related to high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPVs). After a particular HR-HPV infects a cervical cell, transcriptional changes in the host cell are expected, including the regulation of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs. Such transcripts may work independently or integrated in complex molecular networks - as in competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks. In our research, we gathered transcriptome data from samples of HPV16/HPV18 cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC), from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Using GDCRNATools, we identified ceRNA networks that differentiate HPV16- from HPV18-mediated CESC. For HPV16-CESC, three lncRNA-mRNA co-expressed pairs were reported, all led by the X-inactive specific transcript (XIST): XIST | DLG5, XIST | LGR4, and XIST | ZNF81. The XIST | LGR4 and XIST | ZNF81 pairs shared 11 miRNAs, suggesting an increased impact on their final biological effect. XIST also stood out as an important lncRNA in HPV18-CESC, leading 35 of the 42 co-expressed pairs. Some mRNAs, such as ADAM9 and SLC38A2, emerged as important players in the ceRNA regulatory networks due to sharing a considerable amount of miRNAs with XIST. Furthermore, some XIST-associated axes, namely XIST | miR-23a-3p | LGR4 and XIST | miR-30b-5p or miR-30c-5p or miR-30e-5p I ADAM9, had a significant impact on the overall survival of HPV16- and HPV18-CESC patients, respectively. Together, these data suggest that XIST has an important role in HPV-mediated tumorigenesis, which may implicate different molecular signatures between HPV16 and HPV18-associated tumors.