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Smith K, Beach D, Silva R, Balazs G, Salani F, Crea F. Comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma: Prognostic, predictive significance and pathway insights. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296198. [PMID: 38635644 PMCID: PMC11025735 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Robust prognostic and predictive factors for hepatocellular carcinoma, a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, have not yet been identified. Previous studies have identified potential HCC determinants such as genetic mutations, epigenetic alterations, and pathway dysregulation. However, the clinical significance of these molecular alterations remains elusive. MicroRNAs are major regulators of protein expression. MiRNA functions are frequently altered in cancer. In this study, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of differentially expressed miRNAs in HCC, to elucidate their associated pathways and their impact on treatment response. To this aim, bioinformatics techniques and clinical dataset analyses were employed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in HCC compared to normal hepatic tissue. We validated known associations and identified a novel miRNA signature with potential prognostic significance. Our comprehensive analysis identified new miRNA-targeted pathways and showed that some of these protein coding genes predict HCC patients' response to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sorafenib.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayleigh Smith
- Cancer Research Group-School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - Dan Beach
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Roger Silva
- Department of Medicine, Cancer Research Program Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Gyorffy Balazs
- Department of Bioinformatics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Francesca Salani
- Cancer Research Group-School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Research “Health Science”, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Crea
- Cancer Research Group-School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
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Tsoneva DK, Ivanov MN, Vinciguerra M. Liquid Liver Biopsy for Disease Diagnosis and Prognosis. J Clin Transl Hepatol 2023; 11:1520-1541. [PMID: 38161500 PMCID: PMC10752811 DOI: 10.14218/jcth.2023.00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver diseases are a major burden worldwide, the scope of which is expected to further grow in the upcoming years. Clinically relevant liver dysfunction-related blood markers such as alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase have limited accuracy. Nowadays, liver biopsy remains the gold standard for several liver-related pathologies, posing a risk of complication due to its invasive nature. Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive approach, which has shown substantial potential in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of liver diseases by detecting disease-associated particles such as proteins and RNA molecules in biological fluids. Histones are the core components of the nucleosomes, regulating essential cellular processes, including gene expression and DNA repair. Following cell death or activation of immune cells, histones are released in the extracellular space and can be detected in circulation. Histones are stable in circulation, have a long half-life, and retain their post-translational modifications. Here, we provide an overview of the current research on histone-mediated liquid biopsy methods for liver diseases, with a focus on the most common detection methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Desislava K. Tsoneva
- Department of Medical Genetics, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Martin N. Ivanov
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Manlio Vinciguerra
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
- Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Hu Y, Zhang X, Li Q, Zhou Q, Fang D, Lu Y. An immune and epigenetics-related scoring model and drug candidate prediction for hepatic carcinogenesis via dynamic network biomarker analysis and connectivity mapping. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:4619-4633. [PMID: 37817777 PMCID: PMC10561057 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.09.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with high mortality. This study aimed to build a prognostic signature for HCC patients based on immune-related genes (IRGs) and epigenetics-related genes (EPGs). RNA-seq data from Gene Expression Omnibus were used for dynamic network biomarker (DNB) analysis to identify 56 candidate IRG-EPG-DNBs and their first-neighbor genes. These genes were screened using LASSO-Cox regression analysis to finally obtain five candidate genes-RNF2, YBX1, EZH2, CAD, and PSMD1-which constituted the prognostic signature panel. According to this panel, patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas and International Cancer Genome Consortium were divided into high- and low-risk groups. The prognosis, clinicopathological features, and immune cell infiltration significantly differed between the two risk groups. The prognostic ability of the signature panel and expression profiling were further validated using online databases. We used an independent cohort of patients to validate the expression profiles of the five genes using reverse transcription-PCR. CMap and CellMiner predicted four small molecule drug-protein pairs based on the five prognostic genes. Of them, two market drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (AT-13387 and KU-55933) have emerged as candidates for HCC study. This new signature panel may serve as a potential prognostic marker, engendering the possibility of novel personalized therapy with classification of HCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Hu
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Xingli Zhang
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Qingya Li
- Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Henan 450046, China
| | - Qianmei Zhou
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Dongdong Fang
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Yiyu Lu
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
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Tsoneva DK, Ivanov MN, Conev NV, Manev R, Stoyanov DS, Vinciguerra M. Circulating Histones to Detect and Monitor the Progression of Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24020942. [PMID: 36674455 PMCID: PMC9860657 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24020942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Liquid biopsies have emerged as a minimally invasive cancer detection and monitoring method, which could identify cancer-related alterations in nucleosome or histone levels and modifications in blood, saliva, and urine. Histones, the core component of the nucleosome, are essential for chromatin compaction and gene expression modulation. Increasing evidence suggests that circulating histones and histone complexes, originating from cell death or immune cell activation, could act as promising biomarkers for cancer detection and management. In this review, we provide an overview of circulating histones as a powerful liquid biopsy approach and methods for their detection. We highlight current knowledge on circulating histones in hematologic malignancies and solid cancer, with a focus on their role in cancer dissemination, monitoring, and tumorigenesis. Last, we describe recently developed strategies to identify cancer tissue-of-origin in blood plasma based on nucleosome positioning, inferred from nucleosomal DNA fragmentation footprint, which is independent of the genetic landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Desislava K. Tsoneva
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Martin N. Ivanov
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Nikolay Vladimirov Conev
- Clinic of Medical Oncology, UMHAT “St. Marina”, 1 “Hristo Smirnenski” Blvd., 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Propedeutics of Internal Diseases, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Rostislav Manev
- Clinic of Medical Oncology, UMHAT “St. Marina”, 1 “Hristo Smirnenski” Blvd., 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Propedeutics of Internal Diseases, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Dragomir Svetozarov Stoyanov
- Clinic of Medical Oncology, UMHAT “St. Marina”, 1 “Hristo Smirnenski” Blvd., 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Propedeutics of Internal Diseases, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Manlio Vinciguerra
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
- Correspondence:
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Shirvaliloo M. The landscape of histone modifications in epigenomics since 2020. Epigenomics 2022; 14:1465-1477. [PMID: 36710634 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2022-0437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Histone proteins are a primary component of chromatin; therefore, any modifications to their structure are anticipated to affect the behavior of our genetic material, which is manifested in the form of phenotypic changes at a molecular, cellular or organic level. The majority of histone modifications are of either methylation or acetylation type that regulate gene expression. Though, not all of these modifications are concerned with the direct regulation of gene transcription. Throughout its 13-year run, Epigenomics has never ceased to cover these most gripping epigenetic stories, a significant proportion of which is in the matter of histones and their modifications. As such, the current perspective piece is intended to highlight original histone-oriented contributions published in Epigenomics since 2020.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milad Shirvaliloo
- Infectious & Tropical Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 15731, Iran
- Future Science Group, Unitec House, 2 Albert Place, London, N3 1QB, UK
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