Identification and Analysis of RNA Editing Events in Ovarian Serous Cystadenoma Using RNA-seq Data

Global characterization of RNA editing in genetic regulation of multiple ovarian cancer subtypes

RNA editing plays an extensive role in the initiation and progression of cancer. However, the overall profile and molecular functions of RNA editing in different ovarian cancer subtypes have not been fully characterized and elucidated. Here, we conducted a study on RNA editing in four cohorts of ovarian cancer subtypes through large-scale parallel reporting and bioinformatics analysis. Our findings revealed that RNA editing patterns exhibit subtype-specific characteristics within cancer subtypes. The expression pattern of ADAR and the number of differential editing sites varied under different conditions. CCOC and EOC exhibited significant editing deficiency, whereas HGSC and MOC displayed significant editing excess. The sites within the turquoise module of the coedited network also revealed their correlation with ovarian cancer. In addition, we identified an average of over 40,000 cis-edQTLs in the four subtypes. Finally, we explored the association between RNA editing and drug response, uncovering several potentially effective editing-drug pairs (EDP) and suggesting the conceivable utility of RNA editing sites as therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Overall, our comprehensive study has identified and characterized RNA editing events in various subtypes of ovarian cancer, providing a new perspective for ovarian cancer research and facilitating the development of medical interventions and treatments.

Genome-wide perturbations of A-to-I RNA editing dysregulated circular RNAs promoting the development of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer, the second most common female malignant tumor, seriously threatens women's health and lives. Despite the availability of the HPV vaccine, effective treatment options for cervical cancer are still lacking. New research perspectives now clarify that RNA editing dysregulation and changes in circRNA expression are jointly involved in disease pathogenesis, so molecular changes associated with circRNA and RNA editing may provide clues for the development of new therapeutic strategies for cervical cancer. In this study, we designed a series of pipelines to identify and analyze dysregulated RNA editing events in circRNAs. Our findings indicate a decrease in A-to-I RNA editing levels in cervical cancer compared to normal tissues, and editing may influence the back-splicing process of circRNAs through structural modifications of Alu elements. Moreover, our research reveals that RNA editing could modulate circRNA biogenesis by influencing RNA binding protein (RBP) binding on a transcriptome-wide scale, as well as influence the expression and coding potential of circRNAs. Importantly, we identified three RNA editing sites that could serve as potential biomarkers. In summary, our study presents a comprehensive landscape of RNA editing perturbations in circRNAs, providing new insights into the complex relationship between RNA editing and circRNA dysregulation in cervical cancer.

RNA epigenetic modifications in ovarian cancer: The changes, chances, and challenges

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most common female cancer worldwide. Patients with OC have high mortality because of its complex and poorly understood pathogenesis. RNA epigenetic modifications, such as m6 A, m1 A, and m5 C, are closely associated with the occurrence and development of OC. RNA modifications can affect the stability of mRNA transcripts, nuclear export of RNAs, translation efficiency, and decoding accuracy. However, there are few overviews that summarize the link between m6 A RNA modification and OC. Here, we discuss the molecular and cellular functions of different RNA modifications and how their regulation contributes to the pathogenesis of OC. By improving our understanding of the role of RNA modifications in the etiology of OC, we provide new perspectives for their use in OC diagnosis and treatment. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > RNA Editing and Modification RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease.

Long Non-Coding RNA Epigenetics

Long noncoding RNAs exceeding a length of 200 nucleotides play an important role in ensuring cell functions and proper organism development by interacting with cellular compounds such as miRNA, mRNA, DNA and proteins. However, there is an additional level of lncRNA regulation, called lncRNA epigenetics, in gene expression control. In this review, we describe the most common modified nucleosides found in lncRNA, 6-methyladenosine, 5-methylcytidine, pseudouridine and inosine. The biosynthetic pathways of these nucleosides modified by the writer, eraser and reader enzymes are important to understanding these processes. The characteristics of the individual methylases, pseudouridine synthases and adenine-inosine editing enzymes and the methods of lncRNA epigenetics for the detection of modified nucleosides, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, are discussed in detail. The final sections are devoted to the role of modifications in the most abundant lncRNAs and their functions in pathogenic processes.