Single nucleotide polymorphism of hsa-miR-124a affects risk and prognosis of osteosarcoma

Long Noncoding RNA LIFR-AS1: A New Player in Human Cancers

Emerging evidence has indicated that aberrantly expressed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a vital role in various biological processes associated with tumorigenesis. Leukemia inhibitory factor receptor antisense RNA1 (LIFR-AS1) is a recently identified lncRNA transcribed in an antisense manner from the LIFR gene located on human chromosome 5p13.1. LIFR-AS1 regulates tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, and drug resistance through different mechanisms. Its expression level is related to the clinicopathological characteristics of tumors and plays a key role in tumor occurrence and development. In this review, we summarize the role of LIFR-AS1 in the development and progression of different cancers and highlight the potential for LIFR-AS1 to serve as a biomarker and therapeutic target for a variety of human cancers.

Identification of plasma microRNA-22 as a marker for the diagnosis, prognosis, and chemosensitivity prediction of osteosarcoma

Objective

MicroRNA (miR)-22 plays crucial roles in malignant tumors and is involved in regulation of chemosensitivity. Additionally, altered expression of circulating miR-22 has been reported in various cancers. This study was designed to investigate plasma miR-22 expression in patients with osteosarcoma (OS) and determine its diagnostic, prognostic, and chemosensitivity prediction value.

Methods

Plasma miR-22 levels in 120 patients with OS and 120 healthy controls were detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Associations of plasma miR-22 expression with the patients’ clinicopathological features and prognosis were then assessed.

Results

Plasma miR-22 levels in patients with OS were significantly lower than those in healthy controls. Low plasma miR-22 levels were correlated with large tumor size, advanced clinical stages, positive distant metastasis, and poor tumor response to preoperative chemotherapy. Plasma miR-22 could discriminate OS patients from controls and distinguish patients with a good response to therapy from those with a poor response to therapy. Multivariate analysis revealed that low plasma miR-22 expression was a significant independent predictor of unfavorable prognosis.

Conclusions

Altered plasma levels of miR-22 might serve as a novel, noninvasive biomarker for OS diagnosis, prognosis, and chemosensitivity prediction.

Macrophages-derived exosomal lncRNA LIFR-AS1 promotes osteosarcoma cell progression via miR-29a/NFIA axis

Background

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in young people. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have been reported to play an important role in the development of osteosarcoma. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown and need to be elucidated. Recently, exosomes have been reported as the crucial mediator between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. And a lot of lncRNAs have been reported to act as either oncogenes or tumor suppressors in osteosarcoma. In this research, we aim to explore the role of macrophages-derived exosomal lncRNA in osteosarcoma development and further elucidated the potential molecular mechanisms involved.

Methods

TAMs were differentiated from human mononuclear cells THP-1, and a high-throughput microarray assay was used to analyze the dysregulated lncRNAs and miRNAs in osteosarcoma cells co-cultured with macrophages-derived exosomes. Western blot, qRT-PCR assays, and Dual-luciferase reporter assay were used to verify the interaction among LIFR-AS1, miR-29a, and NFIA. Cck-8, EdU, colony formation assay, wound-healing, and transwell assay were performed to explore the characterize the proliferation and metastasis ability of OS cells. And qPCR, Western blots, immunohistochemistry, and cell immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of relative genes or proteins.

Results

In this study, we found that THP-1-induced macrophage-derived exosomes could facilitate osteosarcoma cell progression both in vitro and in vivo. Then, the results of the high-throughput microarray assay showed that LIFR-AS1 was highly expressed and miR-29a was lowly expressed. Furthermore, LIFR-AS1 was identified as a miR-29a sponge, and NFIA was validated as a direct target of miR-29a. Functional assays demonstrated that knockdown of exosomal LIFR-AS1 could attenuate the promotion effects of macrophages-derived exosomes on osteosarcoma cell progression and miR-29a inhibition could reserve the effect of LIFR-AS1-knockdown exosomes. Correspondingly, NFIA-knockdown could partially reverse the tumor inhibition effect of miR-29a on osteosarcoma cells.

Conclusions

Taken together, macrophages-derived exosomal lncRNA LIFR-AS1 can promote osteosarcoma cell proliferation, invasion, and restrain cell apoptosis via miR-29a/NFIA axis, which can act as a potential novel therapeutic target for osteosarcoma therapy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-01893-0.

Small and Long Non-coding RNAs as Functional Regulators of Bone Homeostasis, Acting Alone or Cooperatively

Emerging knowledge indicates that non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), have a pivotal role in bone development and the pathogenesis of bone-related disorders. Most recently, miRNAs have started to be regarded as potential biomarkers or targets for various sets of diseases, while lncRNAs have gained attention as a new layer of gene expression control acting through versatile interactions, also with miRNAs. The rapid development of RNA sequencing techniques based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) gives us better insight into molecular pathways regulated by the miRNA-lncRNA network. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge related to the function of miRNAs and lncRNAs as regulators of genes that are crucial for proper bone metabolism and homeostasis. We have characterized important non-coding RNAs and their expression signatures, in relationship to bone. Analysis of the biological function of miRNAs and lncRNAs, as well as their network, will pave the way for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of various bone disorders. We also think that this knowledge may lead to the development of innovative diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches for bone-related disorders.

Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacogenetics in Osteosarcoma: Translational Studies and Clinical Impact

High-grade osteosarcoma (HGOS) is a very aggressive bone tumor which primarily affects adolescents and young adults. Although not advanced as is the case for other cancers, pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic studies applied to HGOS have been providing hope for an improved understanding of the biology and the identification of genetic biomarkers, which may impact on clinical care management. Recent developments of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in HGOS are expected to: i) highlight genetic events that trigger oncogenesis or which may act as drivers of disease; ii) validate research models that best predict clinical behavior; and iii) indicate genetic biomarkers associated with clinical outcome (in terms of treatment response, survival probability and susceptibility to chemotherapy-related toxicities). The generated body of information may be translated to clinical settings, in order to improve both effectiveness and safety of conventional chemotherapy trials as well as to indicate new tailored treatment strategies. Here, we review and summarize the current scientific evidence for each of the aforementioned issues in view of possible clinical applications.

The circular RNA circ-ITCH acts as a tumour suppressor in osteosarcoma via regulating miR-22

Background: Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most prevailing primary bone tumour and the third prevalent tumour in children and adolescents. Despite advanced treatments, the survival rate of OS has not been effectively improved. Here, we intended to investigate the functional impacts of circ-ITCH on OS. Methods: Circ-ITCH expression in OS tissues and cells was evaluated utilizing qRT-PCR. Viability and proliferation of MG63 and Saos-2 cells were determined by utilizing CCK-8 assay and BrdU assay. Transwell assay was utilized to investigate migration and invasion. Western blot was utilized to distinguish apoptosis and metastasis-related proteins expression. Sequentially, the above-mentioned parameters were reassessed when up-regulating miR-22. Results: Circ-ITCH was low expressed in OS tissues and cells. Overexpressing circ-ITCH facilitated apoptosis and repressed viability, proliferation, migration and invasion in MG63 and Saos-2 cells. MiR-22 expression was reduced by overexpressing circ-ITCH. The decline of viability, proliferation, migration and invasion made by overexpressing circ-ITCH was alleviated by up-regulating miR-22. Conclusively, circ-ITCH suppressed PTEN/PI3K/AKT and SP-1 pathways via down-regulating miR-22. Conclusion: Circ-ITCH took effects on apoptosis, viability, proliferation, migration and invasion through restraining PTEN/PI3K/AKT and SP-1 pathways via down-regulating miR-22 in MG63 and Saos-2 cells. Highlights Low expression of circ-ITCH is observed in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines; Overexpression circ-ITCH suppresses miR-22 expression; Circ-ITCH promotes proliferation and represses apoptosis by up-regulating miR-22; Circ-ITCH promotes migration and invasion by up-regulating miR-22; Circ-ITCH activates PTEN/PI3K/AKT and SP-1 pathways by up-regulating miR-22.

miRNA signatures in childhood sarcomas and their clinical implications

Progresses in multimodal treatments have significantly improved the outcomes for childhood cancer. Nonetheless, for about one-third of patients with Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, or osteosarcoma steady remission has remained intangible. Thus, new biomarkers to improve early diagnosis and the development of precision-targeted medicine remain imperative. Over the last decade, remarkable progress has been made in the basic understanding of miRNAs function and in interpreting the contribution of their dysregulation to cancer development and progression. On this basis, this review focuses on what has been learned about the pivotal roles of miRNAs in the regulation of key genes implicated in childhood sarcomas.

Upregulation of circular RNA circ_0000502 predicts unfavorable prognosis in osteosarcoma and facilitates cell progression via sponging miR-1238

Growing evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a significant role in regulating cancer initiation and metastasis. Osteosarcoma (OS) is a sophisticated disease with various genes activated or silenced. In this study, we defined a novel cancer-related circRNA, circ_0000502 in OS progression. qRT-PCR was conducted to detect its expression level in OS tissue samples and cell lines. In addition, the clinical significance of circ_0000502 was investigated. Afterwards, gain-of-function and loss-of-function in vitro assays were performed to detect the cell growth, apoptosis, migration, and invasion altered by circ_0000502 by CCK-8, clone-forming, flow cytometry, and transwell experiments. Xenograft study was performed to validate the in vitro data. The luciferase reporter assay was used to explore the mechanism of circ_0000502. Circ_0000502 was identified upregulated in both OS tissue specimens and cells. In addition, its expression predicts clinical severity and unfavorable prognosis in the 63 recruited patients with OS. Circ_0000502 facilitated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in OS cells and inhibited cell apoptosis. The animal study further confirmed the in vitro results. For mechanism exploration, circ_0000502 could directly sponge microRNA (miR)-1238, and the oncogenic functions of circ_0000502 is partially dependent on its regulation of miR-1238 proved by rescue assays. In summary, this study might help to develop rational predictive and therapeutic target for patients with OS.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0000885 Levels are Increased in Tissue and Serum Samples from Patients with Osteosarcoma

Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are novel non-coding RNAs that have important roles in tumor progression. This study aimed to measure the levels of hsa_circ_0000885 in serum samples and tumor tissue from patients with osteosarcoma compared with controls and to evaluate the findings with disease-free survival and overall survival.

Material/Methods

Fifty pairs of osteosarcoma tissues and matched adjacent normal tissue were obtained from patients who underwent the same chemotherapy regimen before surgery. Blood samples were obtained from 30 patients with osteosarcoma before and after chemotherapy, 25 patients with osteosarcoma before and after surgery, 27 patients with benign bone tumors, and 25 age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls. Circular RNA sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to analyze hsa_circ_0000885 expression.

Results

Hsa_circ_0000885 expression was significantly increased in tissue and serum samples from patients with osteosarcoma, compared with controls, with significantly increased expression levels in patients with Enneking stage IIB and III osteosarcoma, compared with early-stage osteosarcoma. Patients with high serum and tumor levels of hsa_circ_0000885 had lower rates of disease-free survival and overall survival. The serum expression levels of hsa_circ_0000885 were significantly higher in patients with osteosarcoma compared with patients with benign bone tumors or healthy controls.

Conclusions

Hsa_circ_0000885 was upregulated in osteosarcoma, and it could serve as a good prognostic biomarker indicating poor clinical outcomes of osteosarcoma. Hsa_circ_0000885 was upregulated in serum of osteosarcoma patients and could serve as a good diagnostic biomarker for osteosarcoma.

Variants in the 14q32 miRNA cluster are associated with osteosarcoma risk in the Spanish population

Association studies in osteosarcoma risk found significant results in intergenic regions, suggesting that regions which do not codify for proteins could play an important role. The deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been already associated with osteosarcoma. Consequently, genetic variants affecting miRNA function could be associated with risk. This study aimed to evaluate the involvement of all genetic variants in pre-miRNAs described so far in relationship to the risk of osteosarcoma. We analyzed a total of 213 genetic variants in 206 pre-miRNAs in two cohorts of osteosarcoma patients (n = 100) and their corresponding controls (n = 256) from Spanish and Slovenian populations, using Goldengate Veracode technology (Illumina). Four polymorphisms in pre-miRNAs at 14q32 miRNA cluster were associated with osteosarcoma risk in the Spanish population (rs12894467, rs61992671, rs58834075 and rs12879262). Pathway enrichment analysis including target genes of these miRNAs pointed out the WNT signaling pathways overrepresented. Moreover, different single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects between the two populations included were observed, suggesting the existence of population differences. In conclusion, 14q32 miRNA cluster seems to be a hotspot for osteosarcoma susceptibility in the Spanish population, but not in the Slovenian, which supports the idea of the existence of population differences in developing this disease.

Comprehensive Assessment of the Relationship Between MicroRNA-124 and the Prognostic Significance of Cancer

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have demonstrated the presence of microRNA-124 abnormalities involving gene expression, methylation, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in multiple and diverse cancers, but the prognostic value of these abnormalities in cancer remains inconclusive.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to determine the prognostic value of miR-124 in cancer.

METHODS

We scrutinized the electronic databases and estimate the association between miR-124 expression, methylation and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and prognosis in cancers. The pooled hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival (RFS)/progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated to estimate the effects of miR-124 expression, methylation, and SNPs on cancer prognosis. The Quality in Prognosis Studies and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were utilized to assess the quality of included studies.

RESULTS

A total of 20 studies involving 3,574 participants were analyzed in evidence synthesis. Our findings showed that the low expression of miR-124 was significantly associated with poor OS (HR = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.91-2.94, P = 0.00; HR = 3.10, 95% CI: 2.04-4.70, P = 0.00) and PFS/RFS (HR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.50-3.26, P = 0.00; HR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.20-3.74, P = 0.00). The hyper-methylation of miR-124 was associated with poor OS (HR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.48-2.95, P = 0.00) and PFS (HR = 3.70, 95% CI: 1.72-7.97, P = 0.00) (Table 3). The patients carrying with Allele C of miR-124 rs5315649 had a worse OS (HR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.09-2.07, P = 0.00) and PFS (HR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.20-2.33, P = 0.00) than the carriers with Allele G.

CONCLUSION

The low expression and hyper-methylation of miR-124 was strongly associated with poor prognosis, and genetic variations of miR-124 rs531564 affected prognosis in cancer patients.

Association between miR-124-1 rs531564 polymorphism and risk of cancer: An updated meta-analysis of case-control studies

Many studies examined the association between miR-124-1 rs531564 polymorphism and the risk of some human cancers, but the findings remain controversial. This update meta-analysis aimed to validate the association between rs531564 polymorphism of miR-124-1 and cancer risk. Eligible studies including 6,502 cancer cases and 7,213 controls were documented by searching Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar databases. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to quantitatively evaluate the association between rs531564 variant and cancer risk. The results indicated that rs531564 variant significantly decreased the risk of cancer in homozygous codominant (OR=0.54, 95 % CI=0.43-0.69, p<0.00001, GG vs CC), dominant (OR=0.84, 95 % CI=0.72-0.99, p=0.03, CG+GG vs CC), recessive (OR=0.65, 95 % CI=0.54-0.78, p<0.00001, GG vs CG+CC), and allele (OR=0.84, 95 % CI=0.73-0.96, p=0.008, G vs C) genetic model. Stratified analysis by cancer type revealed that rs531564 variant was associated with gastric cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and colorectal cancer risk. In summary, the findings of this meta-analysis support an association between miR-124-1 rs531564 polymorphism and cancer risk. Larger and well-designed studies are required to estimate this association in detail.

Circular RNA circNASP modulates the malignant behaviors in osteosarcoma via miR-1253/FOXF1 pathway

Increasing evidences demonstrate that circular RNAs (circRNAs) serve as essential regulators in various human diseases, including cancer. However, the study on circRNA function in osteosarcoma (OS) is just emerging. In the present study, we screened out a novel circRNA termed circNASP which was significantly upregulated in OS tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. We found that circNASP knockdown dramatically inhibited the proliferation, cell cycle progression and invasion of OS cells. Moreover, we showed that circNASP expression was positively correlated with tumor size and metastasis in OS patients. In terms of mechanism, we found that circNASP acts as a sponge of miR-1253 targeting FOXF1 in OS cells. By inhibiting miR-1253 availability, circNASP promoted FOXF1 expression. Rescue assays indicated that inhibition of miR-1253 could significantly reverse the effects of circNASP knockdown on OS cell proliferation and invasion while restoration of FOXF1 rescued the proliferation and invasion of OS cells transfected with miR-1253 mimics. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that circNASP contributes to malignant behaviors of OS cells by miR-1253/FOXF1 pathway, which suggested circNASP/miR-1253/FOXF1axis might be a potential therapeutic target.

Genetic susceptibility to bone and soft tissue sarcomas: a field synopsis and meta-analysis

Background

The genetic architecture of bone and soft tissue sarcomas susceptibility is yet to be elucidated. We aimed to comprehensively collect and meta-analyze the current knowledge on genetic susceptibility in these rare tumors.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on the association between DNA variation and risk of developing sarcomas through searching PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Scopus and Web of Science databases. To evaluate result credibility, summary evidence was graded according to the Venice criteria and false positive report probability (FPRP) was calculated to further validate result noteworthiness. Integrative analysis of genetic and eQTL (expression quantitative trait locus) data was coupled with network and pathway analysis to explore the hypothesis that specific cell functions are involved in sarcoma predisposition.

Results

We retrieved 90 eligible studies comprising 47,796 subjects (cases: 14,358, 30%) and investigating 1,126 polymorphisms involving 320 distinct genes. Meta-analysis identified 55 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with disease risk with a high (N=9), moderate (N=38) and low (N=8) level of evidence, findings being classified as noteworthy basically only when the level of evidence was high. The estimated joint population attributable risk for three independent SNPs (rs11599754 of ZNF365/EGR2, rs231775 of CTLA4, and rs454006 of PRKCG) was 37.2%. We also identified 53 SNPs significantly associated with sarcoma risk based on single studies.Pathway analysis enabled us to propose that sarcoma predisposition might be linked especially to germline variation of genes whose products are involved in the function of the DNA repair machinery.

Conclusions

We built the first knowledgebase on the evidence linking DNA variation to sarcomas susceptibility, which can be used to generate mechanistic hypotheses and inform future studies in this field of oncology.

WITHDRAWN: Circular RNA hsa_circ_0001564 facilitates tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma via sponging miR-29c-3p

The title, author names and abstract of this article were released onto PubMed, despite the fact that the full article was never published in the journal, having been withdrawn by the author. The entry for the paper has now been withdrawn from PubMed by the publisher.