The Application of the RNA Interference Technologies for KRAS: Current Status, Future Perspective and Associated Challenges

The Current Status of SSRP1 in Cancer: Tribulation and Road Ahead

Methods

We search PubMed and Web of Sciences with keywords “SSRP1” and “Cancer.” Only English literature was included, and conference papers and abstract were all excluded.

Results

Transcription factors are classified into three groups based on their DNA binding motifs: simple helix-loop-helix (bHLH), classical zinc fingers (ZF-TFs), and homeodomains. The tumor-suppressive miR-497 (microRNA-497) acted as an undesirable regulator of SSRP1 upregulation, which led to tumor growth. The siRNA (small interfering RNA) knockdown of SSRP1 hindered cell proliferation along with incursion and glioma cell migration. Through the AKT (also known as protein kinase B) signaling pathway, SSRP1 silencing affected cancer apoptosis and cell proliferation.

Conclusion

The MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathway's phosphorylation was suppressed when SSRP1 was depleted. The effect of curaxins on p53 and NF-B (nuclear factor-κB), and their toxicity to cancer cells, is attributable to the FACT (facilitates chromatin transcription) complex's chromatin trapping.

Reflections on drug resistance to KRASG12C inhibitors and gene silencing/editing tools for targeting mutant KRAS in cancer treatment

KRAS is the most commonly mutated oncogene in human tumors, especially in lung, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers. Small-molecule inhibitors targeting mutant KRAS^G12C demonstrated promising anti-tumor effect in patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring KRAS^G12C mutation, while the intrinsic and acquired drug resistance occurred frequently and might be inevitable. Unlike the protein-level inhibition approach, gene silencing/editing tools for DNA-level knockout and RNA-level knockdown of mutant KRAS may be advantageous since these approaches directly eliminate the production of mutant KRAS-encoded protein. An in-depth understanding of KRAS biology, drug resistance to KRAS^G12C inhibitors and gene silencing/editing methods applied for anti-KRAS therapy may give new insight into the therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.

Attenuation of the cytoprotection induced by hypoxic preconditioning upon transfection with BNIP3-siRNA in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the functional role of hypoxic preconditioning (HPC) in human neuroblastoma cells.

METHODS

BNIP3 small-interfering RNA (BNIP3-siRNA) sequence was synthesized and used to transfect human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell lines. Thereafter, BNIP3 expression at mRNA and protein levels and its effects on the cell proliferation were analyzed. The most effective pair of siRNA was selected to knockdown the expression level of BNIP3. Moreover, the effects of HPC on oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced apoptosis and autophagy in SH-SY5Y cells were explored to further reveal the possible mechanisms underlying HPC.

RESULTS

BNIP3-siRNA attenuated the protective effects of HPC by decreasing the cell viability, increasing the enzymatic activity of caspase-3 and 9, increasing the rate of apoptosis, and increasing the protein expression level of activated caspase-3. Additionally, BNIP3-siRNA had no significant influence on the expression level of HIF-1α induced by HPC, while it substantially inhibited HPC-induced BNIP3/Beclin1 and autophagy.

CONCLUSIONS

HPC promoted autophagy through regulating BNIP3 to reduce OGD/R.

Integrative omics analysis reveals relationships of genes with synthetic lethal interactions through a pan-cancer analysis

Synthetic lethality is thought to play an important role in anticancer therapies. Herein, to understand the potential distributions and relationships between synthetic lethal interactions between genes, especially for pairs deriving from different sources, we performed an integrative analysis of genes at multiple molecular levels. Based on inter-species phylogenetic conservation of synthetic lethal interactions, gene pairs from yeast and humans were analyzed; a total of 37,588 candidate gene pairs containing 7,816 genes were collected. Of these, 49.74% of genes had 2–10 interactions, 22.93% were involved in hallmarks of cancer, and 21.61% were identified as core essential genes. Many genes were shown to have important biological roles via functional enrichment analysis, and 65 were identified as potentially crucial in the pathophysiology of cancer. Gene pairs with dysregulated expression patterns had higher prognostic values. Further screening based on mutation and expression levels showed that remaining gene pairs were mainly derived from human predicted or validated pairs, while most predicted pairs from yeast were filtered from analysis. Genes with synthetic lethality were further analyzed with their interactive microRNAs (miRNAs) at the isomiR level which have been widely studied as negatively regulatory molecules. The miRNA–mRNA interaction network revealed that many synthetic lethal genes contributed to the cell cycle (seven of 12 genes), cancer pathways (five of 12 genes), oocyte meiosis, the p53 signaling pathway, and hallmarks of cancer. Our study contributes to the understanding of synthetic lethal interactions and promotes the application of genetic interactions in further cancer precision medicine.

Gene Therapy in Cancer Treatment: Why Go Nano?

The proposal of gene therapy to tackle cancer development has been instrumental for the development of novel approaches and strategies to fight this disease, but the efficacy of the proposed strategies has still fallen short of delivering the full potential of gene therapy in the clinic. Despite the plethora of gene modulation approaches, e.g., gene silencing, antisense therapy, RNA interference, gene and genome editing, finding a way to efficiently deliver these effectors to the desired cell and tissue has been a challenge. Nanomedicine has put forward several innovative platforms to overcome this obstacle. Most of these platforms rely on the application of nanoscale structures, with particular focus on nanoparticles. Herein, we review the current trends on the use of nanoparticles designed for cancer gene therapy, including inorganic, organic, or biological (e.g., exosomes) variants, in clinical development and their progress towards clinical applications.